BV 4834 
.Z55 
1807 
Copy 1 



'-^S'l 



"0 




V 



ILIBRAEY OF CONGRESS.! 



^J^M %33 I 

. L f-s^7 \ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.} 



EXERCISES OF PIETY: 



MEDITATIONS 



PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES &f DUTIES 



RELIGION, 



FOR THE USE OF 



ENLIGHTENED & VIRTUOUS CHRISTIANS. 



BY G;^ Ja ZOLLIKOFER, 

LATE PASTOR OF THE RXFORMED CHURCH AT LEIPSICK, IN GERMANY, 



ABRIDGED, CORRECTED AND RECOMMENDED, 

BY THADDEU3 M. ^AR^IS,- 

PASTOR OF THE CHURCH AT DORC H E S T E^|{ff MAS S ACHU SETTS 

SECOJYD EDimOM 



PRINTED AT WORCESTER, BY THOMAS ^ STURTEVANTj 

For ISAIAH THOMAS, Jun, 

Sold hj Ulra in Worcester ; by Th-mas & Whipple^ Newburyport, and by 
Thomas & Tappan, Pcrtsmouta. 



^ A" 
. r- \ 



District of Massachusetts District, to M'it 



(-) 



Be 



IT REMEMBERED, That OH the Tweii- 

tyseventh Day of January, in the Twcntyseventh Year of the In- 
dependence of the United States of America^ Isaiah Thomas, 
Junior, of the said District, hath deposited in this Office the Title of 
a Book, the Right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the words fol- 
lowing, to wit: " Exercises of Piety : Or, Meditations on the Prin- 
cipal Doctrines and Duties of Religion. For the Use of Enlightened 
and Virtuous Christians. By G. J, Zollikofer, late Pastor of the 
Reformed Church at Leipsick. in Germany. Translated from the 
French Edition by James Manning, Pastor of the United Congre- 
gation of Dissenters, in Exeter, Greatbritain, Abridged, corrected 
and recommended by Thaddeus M. Harris Pastor of the Church 
23 Dorchester, Massachusetts, North America." 

In Conformity to the Act of the Congress, of the Unit- 
ed States, intituled, '< An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by 
fecuring the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and 
Proprietors of fuch Copies, during the times therein mentioned.'* 

N. GOODALE, 
Clerk of the District of Massachusetts District, 
A true Copy of Record — 
Attest. N. GooDALEj Clerk. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



TRANSLATOR. 



THE following lLxE?.ciSES of Piety are 
the production of Mr. G. L Zollikofeu the 
worthy pastor of the reformed church at Leip- 
sick. They made their first appearance in the 
German Language y but iverc lately pnhlisliedin 
French, at Frankfort. The French edition^ from 
w/iich these Exercises were translated^ is printed 
171 two volumes^ of which the de'Dotional services 
now published^ make but an inconsiderable part^ 
and are chiefiy taken from the second 'Dolu7ne, 

The enlightened and virtuous Christian, for 

whose use they are priJicii ally intended^ %vill here 

find something exactly suited to his external 

circumstances^ and the devotional feelings of 

his mind. 

The less perfect Christian^ who has not yet 
made such progress in the school ^/ Piety as the 
former^ may also reap considerable benefit from 
such a book of devotion. It will tend to improve 
him in knowledge and practice^ and be a useful 
hook of instruction as well as of devotion. He 
may here be led to form just notions and holy de- 
sires^ such as cannot but have considerable in- 
fiuence on his prayers and on his conduct. 

The idea of translating them was suggested 
by reading Dr. Fordyce's Addresses to the 



ADVERTISEMENT, 

Deity, to which they appeared to be a proper 
companion^ as they are compositions of the same 
kind^ '' a species of pious contemplation^ where 
the soul^ inspired by a li'vely sense of the Divine 
Presence, expresses, with humility and ardor ^ 
her "very inmost thoughts^ affections and desires^ 
on different subjccts.^^ 



PREFACE 



FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 



I HIS work of one of the most eminent Di- 
vines and popular Preachers in Germany, has 
been justly celebrated and admired. The German 
Journals of Literature give a high character of the 
original ; and the English Reviews notice the trans^ 
tation (here reprinted J in terrns of warm commenda^ 
iion. Indeed all the friends of religion will peruse 
these pathetic pages with real satisfaction and advan^ 
tage, animated with the elevated devotion which 
breathes through them : and will unite in recommend^ 
ing them to all, as eminently calculated to enliven the 
spirit and promote the habits oj pure and rational 
Piety. 

It is the peculiar merit of these ** Excercises,'* 
that they are accommodated to most ^///z^ duties, the 
conditions and relations of life. They may serve, 
too, to- attract Children to their primary obliga- 
tions ; t9 assist Parents in their tender cares ; to lead 
the Aged to the most happy recollections ; to in^ 
struct the Poor in the virtues befitting their lowly 
state : to induce the Rich to acquire more of those 
qualities zvhich will enhance their enjoyments ; to 

sooth the Sick, and to comfort the Bereaved, 
A 2 



PREFACE. 

If promotive ^/either of these good purposes^ es- 
pecially if beneficial in all of them ^ how ought this 
book to he prized ! and how eagerly should every 
family be ta possess^ and every individual to peruse 
it! 

Under this persuasion, the writer of this Introduc- 
tion flatters himself that in more widely circulating 
the inestimable work, by giving a cheap American 
Edition, he is doing service to the cause of practi- 
cal godliness, and opening to hisjriends a new and 
copious souT^ce of religious improvement : and thus 
to do is his dearest wish^ and will ever be his most 
zealous endeavor. 

Note, — In this American Edition several 
sentences^ which appeared mere repetitions, have been 
omitted ; and the structure of others altered, to ac^ 
commodate them more to the idiom of our language : 
And two Exercises on the Iord's Day, transla^ 
ted from the same Author^ are added* 

THADDEUS M. HARRIS. 

Dorcliester, January 1803, 



CONTExNTS. 

lOGRAFHICAL Notices of the Author , , 9 

Introduction , 13 

Reflections on the Existence of God . j8 

On Providence 27 

On Faith in Jesus Christ 41 

The Immortality of the Soul , 49 

Love to God 62 

Love to Jesus Christ 68 

Love to Mankind 74 

Love of Labor 84 

The safest Rule in the Conduct of Life 90 

Exercises of Piety suited to the different Relations of Society 92 

Married Persons 93 

Parents lOl 

For a Child 112 

Youth 119 

Manhood , 129 

Old Age 135 

On Duty to Rulers and Superiors , 143 

Rich Man 149 

Poor Man 1 57 

A Person confined by Sickness 166 

Death of Friends , , . 17^ 

On the Lord's day Morning 185 

Oa the Lord's day Evening , , , 189 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES of the AUTHOR. 



W, 



HEN we take vp a book we naturally wish te 
know something of the author, who he was, where he liv- 
ed, and why he wrote. We would ascertain his preten- 
sions to our notice, and whether we may expect any partic- 
ular benefit, new information, or increased satisfaction 
from his writings. 

Or if the perusal of a volume, by an author unknown to 
us, has served to instruct and improve us, to fnake us wiser 
and better, to elevate our piety and increase our happiness, 
we fed a real obligation, a sense of becoming gratitude, 
and are particularly desirous of knowing to whom we are 
indebted ; we have even contracted an affection, a friend- 
ship, for our judicious instructor — and friends should be 
well acquainted. 

To gratify this laudable curiosity in these who have the 
inclination to purchase and the good sense to peruse this 
valuable work, pains have been taken to collect some ac- 
count of the worthy author. 

George Joachim Zollikofer was born at St. Gall, 
in Switzerland, on the 5th of August, 1730. His father, 
David Anthon y Zollikofer, is still remembered there 
as an eminent practitioner in the law, and as a pious and 
upright man. That he omitted nothing in the literary ed- 
ucat'on of his son may well be imagined ; li. is still more 
manifest that by his own virtuous example he became his 
moral tutor, a tutor to whom posterity is under such infi- 
nite obligations through his pupil. 

Young Zollikofer, when arrived at the proper age, 
was put to the gymnasium of his native town ; from whence, 
being intended fdr the charsh; he was sent to prosecute his 



lO BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 

studies, first at Bremen, and afterwards at the university of 
Utrecht, where the divinity professors are said to have 
been then in high repute. 

Possessing native genius, a clear intcliect, and an ele- 
vated fancy, with a close attachment to learning and an ar- 
dent ambition to excel, as m.ightbe expected he made great 
improvements and became an accomplished scholar. He 
vias well vened in History, Biography, Poetry, and all the 
branches of Polite Literature ; He was fond of these pur- 
suits, for they enlarged his mind, corrected his taste, and 
refined his native sensibilities. In Natural History and 
Natural Philosophy, also, he is said to have possessed un- 
common knowledge. But Ethics and Divinity were his 
favorite studies, for they belonged to the profession to 
v^^hich he had devoted alibis regards, all his exertions, and 
all liis talents. In this profession he was unrivalled. His 
compositions, always judicious, correct and pathetic, were 
delivered with all the advantages of a fine voice, a graceful 
figure, and an irresistible eloquence. 

His first establishment as a Preacher, which was soon af- 
ter he had completed his academical course, was in his own 
country at Murten, in the Paysde Vaud. Here, however, 
he remained only a short time, having a call to a more con- 
siderable place at Monstein, in the Grisons. This congre- 
gation, likewise, had not the happiness to possess him for 
a much longer period, he being invited to Isenburg as a 
preacher there. Yet neither was this station the theatre 
which Providence had determined for his most extensive 
and pernianent usefulness. In the year 1758, at the age of 
eight and twenty, he was appointed to the office of one of 
the German preachers at the reformed church at Leipsick. 
This was a conspicuous station, and Mr Zollikofer filled 
it with eminent advantage. That he was universally ad- 
mired and celebrated, is his least praise ; his ministerial la- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. I5 

bors, his instructions, and his example, diffused far around 
the knowledge and the beauties of holiness ; while his most 
excellent publications will spread, through every country 
and age, fresh excitements and encouragements to virtue 
and piety. 

Several volumes of his in comparable discourses have 
been for some years in the hands of the public, and are in 
high and deserved repute.* Not only have they passed 
through many editions in their original language, but they 
have been translated into French, Italian, and English, and 
are continually reprinting. The celebrated Dr. Blair is 
said to have made them more than his model j this may 
perhaps be an invidious suggestion, biit it is a high testi- 
mony to their excerence. 

Honored by the wise, beloved by the good, respected 
and venerated by all classes ; ---delighted in by the young 
as a candid, kind, and faithful adviser ; resorted to by the 
poor as a bountiful helper and patron ; sent for by the sick 
and afRicteias their best earthly comforter ; wholly occu- 
pied with religious Juties and with humane and pious ex- 
ercises, he spent an useful and honorable life, and left be- 
hind him a reputation unblemished and a fame immortal* 

^"L was twice married. His first wife^ na«ied LeRoy, 
was a lady of great understanding and considerable attain- 
ments. He v/as extremely fond of her, and his congrega- 
tion witnessed the manly tears he shed upon her grave. 
His second of the family of Sechuhay, at Leipsick, was 
an uncommon blessing to him during tlie last seven years of 
his life, and probably the world is indebted to her endear- 
ing attentions that his life and labors v;ere so far prolong- 
ed. Both marriages were childless ; Providence, dcubt- 

* His two volumes of Sermoos on the " Dignity of yian^ and the 
ohjects relating to Hu?r.an Hapbine.^s,'' h:iv; juU been piih!isk:d by I. 
Thqmas, juu> in i¥orcestf.r. 



^^ BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 

less for some wise purposes unknown to us, not dispensing 
to the man who had thought and read so much on the nur- 
ture and education of youth, and author of several pieces 
on the subject, the happiness of applying his wise and ex- 
cellent lessons to practice. 

For the space of a year before his death, feeling his fac- 
ulties considerably on the decline, and thinking himself no 
longer able to fulfil the duties of his office to his own satis- 
faction, he formed the resolution to lay it down, and retire 
to the place of his nativity in Switzerland : But at the unit- 
ed request ot his congregation, who assured him that they 
would willingly content themselves with a discourse from 
him every fortnight, he was induced to remain in his sta. 
tion. His health even seemed to improve during the sum- 
mer in consequence of his having passed the intervals of his 
time at the village of Gohlitz, not far from town. But in 
the following autumn it too plainly appeared that his re- 
covery was only apparent. He still, however, attended on 
the duties of his office, though with the utmost d fficulty ; 
till, at length, a few weeks before his death, he was oblig- 
ed to apply for assistance to a candidate for orders, who 
kindly took upon him the charge of preaching. His last 
illness was extremely painful, yet he bore his sufferings 
with the patience of a wise man, and the resignation of a 
Christian who looks beyond the grave and corruption to a 
world of retribution. On the 22d of January, 1788, he 
gently sunk into the arms of death, and was interred on 
the 25th. The whole of his numerous congregation, to- 
gether with some hundreds of students at the University, 
and numbers of his auditors of the Lutheran communion, 
attended his body to the grave with every token of un 
feigned sorrow. 



EXERCISES 



OF 



I E T Y. 



;>f>«5C-«><; 



INTRODUCTION. 

Reflection is the mother of 

Wisdom, the faithful companion of Vir- 
tue, and the principal source of human 
felicity. The wisest and most virtuous of 
men have alv^ays considered it in this view, 
and to this day no one calls in question 
the truth of the encomium. 

But, notwithstanding the acknowledged 
advantages of reflection, many persons 
scarcely ever reflect at all ; and the greater 
part of mankind regard this employment 
as difficult and burdensome. We thi72k 
continually, and without intermission. 
Thought is as necessary to the life of the 

B 



14 Introduction. 

soul, as motion is to that of the body. 
They are^both equally involuntary. It is 
as impossible entirely to banish thought, 
as to stop the circulation of the blood. 
The objects which surround us, and the 
changes which take place within us, are 
continually making impressions upon us, 
which the mind presents to itself with 
more or less distinctness, and which it ap- 
proves or disapproves. And this opera- 
tion is performed in sleeping and waking, 
at rest and in action, in society and in 
solitude. We never cease, therefore, to 
thinky any more than we cease to breathe. 
But we generally think with such rapidity 
and inattention, that our ideas are effaced 
as easily as they are produced, and leave 
no sensible traces behind them. 

We often think, then, without refect-- 
ing ; and it is seldom we examine with 
attention what have been our thoughts. 
Hence arise the Httle certainty, order and 
consistency we observe in our ideas — hence 



Introduction. 15 

the slight conviction they produce 5 the 
inconsistency and fickleness of our opin- 
ions and judgments, and the opposition 
that is often seen between our light and 
our conduct, our manner of thinking and 
manner of acting. To remove these de- 
fects^ it is necessary to habituate ourselves 
to reflection, and to familiarize our minds 
to so noble and useful an employment* 
To reflect, as the very expression inti- 
mates, is to throve back the thoughts upon 
themselves, to return to a thought we 
have already had, and to think ^pon it a 
second time. A person who reflects, stops, 
and fixes upon one idea — considers it at 
leisure, and with attention— analyzes it in 
order to discover, more distinctly, the na- 
ture of the object on which he meditates, 
to trace it in its causes and effects, and to 
draw consequences from it relating to his 
conduct and happiness. 

It is by means of such reflection that 
cur ideas, and the knowledge we have ac- 



16 Introduction. 

quired, become more clear, complete, cer- 
tain, interesting and useful to us : And 
such will be the daily employment of eve- 
ry one who zealously aspires after wisdom, 
virtue and happiness. 

Properly speaking, there is no subject 
upon which we cannot reflect. The field 
of contemplation is immense. The heav- 
ens and the earth, creatures, animate and 
inanimate ; the present and the future— 
every thing invites to reflection ; and 
happy is that man, whose faculties of 
mind, an4 whose leisure, permit him to 
meditate on all the variety of objects a- 
round him, and to taste the pleasures of 
reflection, to the greatest extent. But this 
can be only the privilege of a few ; it there- 
fore becomes necessary for us to make a 
judicious selection and choice of subjects 
on which to fix our attention ; for every 
exercise of reflection cannot be equally 
necessary and useful for us. 



Introduction. 17 

What then are the objects with which 
it most concerns us to be acquainted, and 
what are the subjects on which it chiefly 
concerns us to reflect ? 

If we would fix our attention on sub- 
jects which are most interesting, we must 
reflect on the existence and providence of 
God, on Jesus Christ and Christianity, on 
the immortality of the soul, and a future 
state of retribution. 



B 2 



REFLECTIONS ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 



What is the eternal and inex- 
haustible source, whence flow the streams 
of light and life, which diffuse themselves 
over all w^orlds, and all the orders of be- 
ings which inhabit them ? What is the 
universal and incessantly active principle 
v^hich animate and gives life to all, from 
which the powers of nature proceed, and 
by w'hich they are continually renewed ? 
Where is the first cause of all that I be- 
hold ? I see nothing around me but effects 
which owe their origin to other effects. — 
Every thing is produced by another, and is 
itself produced in its turn by others. All 
things are connected and linked togeth- 
er. — Does not this connexion necessarily 
lead me up to a first cause, eternal, inde- 
pendent, selfexistent 3 who always did, and 
always will, continue to exist ? Where is 



Existence of God. 19 

the first link of this immense chain, and 
the Almighty Hand that holds it ? 

Can I doubt that this first cause is in- 
finitely wise, intelligent and good ? Do I 
not every where see the sensible and strik- 
ing traces of inteUigence, wisdom and bo- 
nevolence — the appearances of order, har- 
mony, beauty, design and means, proper 
to execute those designs ? Who hath as- 
signed to the sun,^ the moon, the stars, and 
all those thousands of worlds with which 
I am surrounded, the places they occupy, 
and the circles they run ? Who hath so 
magnificently adorned the place of my a- 
bode, and spread so much life and pleasure 
amongst its inhabitants ? What a variety 
and multitude of plants, insects and ani- 
mals, cover the face of the globe, all of 
which, by their structure, their instincts, 
their modes of life, their labors, and their 
relation to each other, proclaim the con- 
summate ability, and perfect v/isdom, of 
Him who created them ! How wonderful 



^ Exetxises of Piety. 

the manner in which they multiply them- 
selves from age to age, without ever alter- 
ing or confounding their species ! Must I 
not do violence to my understanding, to 
consider all this as the effect of chance, or 
of a blind and unintelligent cause ? 

And where is the first, supreme intelli- 
gence, the Father of Spirits, who hath 
created me, and all other thinking and 
reasonable creatures ? For I have not al- 
ways thought, I have existed but a short 
time, and am equally ignorant how I 
think, and how I began to think. I am 
sensible it is not in myself that I must seek 
for the true cause of my existence. It is 
not to the immediate authors I am indebt- 
ed for it. They know not how I exist, 
and the cause of their own existence is no 
more in themselves than mine is in me. 
Every thing informs me, also, that my 
intelligent nature cannot be the work of 
chance, the effect of the sensible objects 
which surround me, nor of the gross ma- 



Existence of God. 2 1 

tcrials to which I am united. The order, 
the connexion, and the harmony which 
prevail in my thoughts, will not suffer me 
to believe it. I cannot but observe that 
my mind is of a much nobler origin, and 
is of a nature far superior to the body 
which serves for its covering, I perceive 
that my soul is the work of a Being superi- 
or to all those which I see around me — that 
it proceeds from an immaterial, intelligent 
principle, by whom it lives and thinks, 
and to whom it is most intimately related. 

To believe that there is a first, eternal 
cause of all things, an intelligence supreme 
and perfect, is to admit a truth, the con- 
viction of which is necessary to relieve and 
tranquilize my heart 3 and the clearer my 
ideas on this subject, and the more atten- 
tion I pay to what passes within and with- 
out me, the more clearly I hear the voice 
of nature, which announces to me a Deity. 

O thou Being of Beings, infinite, eter- 
nal 5 heaven and earth proclaim thy exist- 



22 Exercises of Piety. 

ence ! — Every leaf, every plant, every 
tree, every insect, every worm that crawl- 
eth on the ground, every living and ra- 
tional creature speaks of Thee. Every 
thing that exists and thinks, celebrates 
thy praise. I behold Thee in the bright- 
ness of the firmament — in the mild light 
which surrounds, and in the vital heat 
which pervades all animate beings ! It 
is Thee I hear in the soft murmurs of the 
air, in the salutary blowing of the winds, 
in the rustling noise of the leaves, in the 
melodious song of birds, in the intelligible 
language of men, in the roaring waves of 
the sea, and in the thundering voice of the 
tempest. It is Thee whom I perceive in the 
impressions which external objects make 
upon me^ and in the pleasing, and sometimes 
rapturous feelings which arise from the 
knowledge of truth, the practice of virtue> 
and the expectation of a happy futurity. 
All that exist, live, think and act, in- 
form me there is a God, an universal 



Existence of God. 23 

principle, an eternal source of life^ motion 
and thought. Yes, great God ! Thou 
wast, and art, and art to come, from ever- 
lasting, and to everlasting. 

How happy am I in knowing Thee, and 
in being able, on the wings of thought, to 
elevate myself to Thee ! What would the 
whole world be without Thee ? — A con- 
fused, inexpUcable mystery. Our intel- 
ligent minds would be involved in fright- 
ful darkness, and all our thoughts, knowl- 
edge, actions and enjoyments, would lose 
all their charms, together with all their 
use. If all were but the sport of chance, 
what hopes could we cherish in our bo- 
soms ; to what fears should we not be- 
come the prey ? On what could we, with 
any confidence rely ? What principles 
"^ could safely guide us in the search of truth, 
and in the conduct of life ? 

If I did not know that thou, O God, 
dost exist, I could scarce restrain myself 
from envying the brutes. In this case, 



24 Exercises of Piety. 

the power of thinking, and of ascending 
from effect to cause, would be to me a fa- 
tal present, and life a burden. No — ^it 
is such a Being as thyself alone which 
could give me a mind capable of conceiv- 
ing of Thee, and a heart burning with a 
desire to know Thee, without whom I can 
enjoy no true felicity. 

By believing in thy existence, I perceiv^e 
the whole value of my own. The idea 
that I am, that I think and live, and that 
I owe these advantages to Thee, fills me 
v^ithjoy unspeakable. I am no longer 
an unconnected individual, lost amidst 
the multitude of living beings. I am no 
longer an effect without a cause. I am 
the workmanship of sovereign wisdom 
and benevolence; the creature of Him 
who hath created, and who preserves all 
beings, and all worlds ; the child of the 
common parent, of the immense family 
which fills the heavens and the earth. 



Existence of God. 25 

Yes, O my God, little as I appear in 
comparison with the vast universe, lam as 
much thy work as the sun, and all the 
worlds which revolve in the immensity of 
space. I am as much thy child as the most 
exalted intelligences which encircle thy 
throne. To thine eyes, thou eternal and 
infinite Being, all the distinctions v^^hich 
are made by men betvvcen w^hat they call 
great and little, disappear. All that comes 
out of thine hands, is worthy of Thee, and 
bears the impression of thy infinite wisdom 
and power. 

What a light is now reflected on all 
things around me ! All is good and per- 
fect in its kind. Every thing is v/hat it 
ought to be in the place it occupies, and 
according to its design, for all that exists 
is the work of the wisest, and the best of 
Beings. The universe is an immense 
whole, all whose parts, closely connected 
together, promote the wisest and most im- 
portant ends. 



26 Exercises of Piety. 

What contentment and tranquillity 
now reign in my heart ! I know the ob^ 
ject of my faith and hope* I know from 
whence I came, by whom I exist, in whom 
I may rejoice, and on whom I can rely. 
I know that thou lives t, O my God s that 
thou art my Creator and my Father, and 
the Creator and Father of all men, and of 
all beings, and will be forever. May 
nothing ever deprive me of this lively and 
delightful conviction. Father of Mer- 
cies ! Strengthen and increase my faith. 
May I be daily more and more convinced 
of thine existence, and adorable perfec- 
tions ; and, filled with this idea, may it 
become to me a constant source of hap- 
piness. 



ON PROVIDENCE. 



If God exists — and can I doubt of 
it whilst the heavens and the earth, all 
that is within me and without me, pro- 
claims this truth ? — If there is a first e- 
ternal cause, a Creator of the universe, 
there is also a Providence v^hich preserves, 
governs and directs the several creatures 
to their respective ends, and to a perpetu- 
ally increasing perfection and felicity. 

The idea I form to myself of the Su- 
preme Being necessarily convinces me of 
the truth of this doctrine } and what falls 
under my notice of the frame and consti- 
tution of all things confirms my faith in 

Lt. 

How can he who knows all tilings be 
ignorant of what passes in any part of his 
vast dominions r Must he not know the 
qualities, the abilities, the effects, the 
combinations of his creatures, animate 



28 Exercises of Piety. 

as well as inanimate ? Must he not know 
exactly their wants, their situation, their 
wishes their endeavors ? Are they not all 
in his hands ? Can any thing exist, live^ 
be happy or unhappy, without his will or 
permission ? Do not all the powers of na- 
ture proceed from Him who is the eter- 
nal and inexhaustible source of motion 
and of life ; from Him who is the Father 
of our spirits, and the God of the spirits 
of all flesh ? And can I believe that God, 
despising the work of his hand^ will aban^ 
don his children to the caprice of chance, 
and to the weakness of nature? Can I 
think a Being of perfect benevolence can 
be an indifferent spectator of the series of 
events, and insensible to the happiness 
and misery of his creatures 3 that eternal 
wisdom acts without an end, or cannot at- 
tain the end it proposes ; or that Infinite 
Goodness will not do all the good that is 
in its power ? 



On Fro'dideitce. 29 

I need not be surprized if the princes of 
the earth neglect the people over whom 
they are placed, if their measures are not 
always wise, or their administrations free 
from reproach ; and if, even with the best 
intentions, they frequently commit the 
greatest faults. Sometimes they are de- 
ficient in understanding and knowledge, 
at others in power or benevolence. Some- 
times they are misled by error, at other 
times they are blinded by passion ; and 
they alm.ost always sink under the burden 
that overpowers them. Their feeble sight 
cannot take in so large a field at once ; 
and neither their heads nor their hearts 
are equal to so many objects. But the 
eye of the Supreme takes in all things at 
one view^ His understanding is infinite 
his love and paternal kindness arebound-^ 
less. He cannot be deceived by false ap- 
pearances — to him nothing is difficult 3 
his strength is never weakned, and there 
is no place which his arm cannot reach, 
c 2 



30 Exercises of Piety. 

He sees all things as they really are. The 
material and spiritual worlds are equally 
subjected to him. He speaks and it is 
done J he commands and it stands fast. 
He doeth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven 
and earth. No one can stay his hand, 
and say unto him^ What doest thou ? We 
have every reason to be satisfied that it is 
infinite wisdom, power and goodness, 
which preserve, direct and govern the 
world ^ all things proceed from him, all 
things exist by him and for him. The 
perfections of the Divine Nature prove 
this delightful and important doctrine j 
and vv^hat falls under our notice of the 
frame and constitution of the world, es- 
tablishes it beyond all uncertainty and 
doubt. 

Are not we, and all that surrounds us, 
as feeble and dependent this day, as we 
Vv^ere the former ? Are we not as incapa- 
ble of prolonging our existence for a sin- 
gle moment as we were of giving ourselves 



On Providence. 31 

existence at first ? Can' that v/hich is de- 
pendent become independent, and subsist 
by itself ? Can the brook continue to run 
without its source, or the weak and feeble 
nifant support itself without the tender 
care of its mother ? Is it not necessary 
that the Almighty Will, which gave us 
our being, should be continually exerted 
to prevent our sinking into our original 
nothingness ? Oh, my God ! every thing 
convinces me that m^y faculties, my sta- 
tion, and the duration of my existence, 
do not depend on my will. It is thou 
who by a secret and absolute power main- 
tainest my strength, motion and existence. 
If my breath is not stopped— if my blood 
circulates — if my limbs have not lost their 
activity^ — if the organs of my senses have 
preserved their delicacy — if in this instant 
I have the faculty of thinking, and the 
use of my reason, it is to Thee alone that 
I am indebted for this continued blessing. 
These expressions in thy holy word then 



52 Exereises of Piety. 

are as true as they are beautiful. '^ All 
thy creatures wait upon thee, and thou 
givest them their meat in due season — that 
thou givest them they gather 3 thou open- 
est thy hand, they are filled with good 5 
thou hidest thy face, they are troubled ; thou 
takest away their breath, they die and re- 
turn to their dust 5 thou sendest forth thy 
spirit, they are created, and thou renewest 
the face of the earth." 

What does the invariable order which 
reigns in nature teach me ^ the regular 
and constant course of the stars, the won- 
derful harmony of their motions, notwith- 
standing their innumerable multitude, and 
the difference of their magnitude I What 
does the continual and well regulated suc- 
cession of days, and seedtime, and harvest, 
and the inexhaustible fertility of nature 
teach me ? Of what am I informed by the 
unchangeable relations which subsist be- 
tween the different kinds of plants, ani- 
mals and men ^ and by the exact propor- 



On Providence. 33 

Lion vvlvich takes place between life and 
death, between what is destructive and 
Dre^ervative, between the means and the 
end ? If chance, or a blind necessity , could 
not produce this surprizing and harmo- 
nious order, neither could they preserve 
and maintain it. Such constant regular- 
ity can only be the effect of an ever active 
Intelligence, which embraces and actuates 
all. 

Great God ! I humbly prostrate myself 
before Thee. Thou art the sovereign lord 
of the universe, the great disposer of 
events, the perserver and father of all thy 
creatures. This is w^hat all nature pro- 
claims to me ; but thy son Jesus Christ, 
hath more especially taught me to consider 
Thee under these glorious and consolatory 
relations. It is in Thee my God, I live, 
and move, and have my being. If thou 
suspendest thine influence, I languish ; if 
thou takest away my breath, I die. Thou 
hast assigned to every one the place he 



34 Exercises of Piety. 

occupies in thy kingdom, and hast deter- 
mined the number of his days. Thou 
knowest all my v/ants, and thou providest 
for them with a wisdom and liberality 
truly paternal. Thou perceivest all our 
thoughts, thou hearest all our sighs, and 
thou weighest all our actions. Thou dis- 
Goverest all the most secret wishes that are 
formed in our hearts, and there is nothing 
so concealed as to be unseen by Thee. — 
Thou dwellest in light, and all is light in 
thine eyes. The darkest nigth is the same 
to Thee as the brightest day ^ the obscur- 
ity of the grave is to Thee as the splendor 
of the firmament. Thou art the ever 
present eternal life, whose vital energy and 
power animate and pervade the whole 
universe. In the heavens and in the earth, 
in every being, in every intelligence, and 
in the heart of man v/e perceive thy con-- 
stant agency, O omnipotent Jehovah ! of 
whom, and through whom, and for whom 
are all things 3, to whom be glory forever. 



^n Providence. 35 

Thou neglectest nothing in thy vast 
empire ; thou takest care of the smallest 
as well as the greatest of thy works, of 
the parts as v/ell as the whole. All are 
thy works, all equally present to thy spirit, 
all closely bound and subjected to thy 
laws. All are perfect in their kind, and 
all contribute to promote the greatest 
possible perfection and happiness in the 
universe. It is thou that clothest the 
flowers in all their magnificence; thou 
givest to the beast his food, and the young 
ravens which cry. Not a sparrow falls to 
the ground without thy permission, — 
Thou preservest andguidset the worm that 
crawleth on the ground, and the sun 
which shines in the firmament 3 the frail 
children of the earth, and the sublime in- 
habitants of heaven. 

How lov/ soever be the rank we sustain 
among rational creatures, this does not 
prevent Thee from being our Father, and 
from watching continually for our pres- 



36 Exercises of Piety. 

ervation and happinefs. Nothing can 
befall us which thou hast not foreseenj 
and which hath not made a part of thy 
plan as a caufe or an effeCl. Thou up- 
boldest all that fall, and raisest up all those 
that be bowed down ^ thou makest poor, 
and thou makest rich ; thou killest, and 
thou mf'kest alive ^ thou woundest, and 
thou healest, neither is there any that can 
deliver out of thine hand. The very hairs 
of thy servants' heads are numbered by 
thee. Thou determinest our destiny^ and 
the fate of kingdoms and of worlds 5 and 
all that thou orderest is righteous and 
good. 

However great the plans, and however 
exalted the ends of thy providence, thou 
v/ilt not fail to execute the one and attain 
the other. How opposite soever the pow- 
ers of nature may appear, how contradic- 
tory soever the wellies, thoughts, designs, 
and endeavors of men, what thou hast re- 
solved on shall take place, thy w4ll shall 



On Providence. 37 

be accomplished ; and from all these con- 
tradictions, real or apparent, the most 
perfect harmony shall finally result. 

How happy should I esteem myself in 
being the object of the wise care and at- 
tention of the best and most tender of fa- 
thers. How happy is it for me that I am 
not left to mvself, to the weakness of na ^ 
ture and the extravagance of passions ; 
that my fate is not governed by my child- 
ish and senseless wishes, but by the laws 
of thine adorable wisdom 3 that it is Thou, 
a Being of infinite knowledge and good- 
ness, who governest and directest my lot, 
and not myself, a v^eak and blind mortal. 

With what calm fearlessness can I now 
contemplate the most extraordinary and 
frightful revolutions in nature and in so- 
ciety ! With what firm assurance can I 
look forward to all future events ! I know 
that thine hand directs every event, and 
that nothing can take place without thy 
sovereign w^ill 

D 



38 Exercises of Piety. 

With filial confidence I commit into 
thy paternal hands my lot in life, and all 
that shall befall me. Foolish and thought- 
less should I be, to presume to prescribe to 
Thee, the manner in which Thou shouldst 
regulate my lot, the lot of my friends, or 
of all thy children spread over the face of 
the earth. Thou knowest and Thou 
lovestus all better than we do ourselves. 
Thou alone knowest, with certainty, what 
would be proper for each of us in our re- 
spective stations, and our several rela- 
tions. Little doth it signify whether the 
path by which thou conductest us be 
obscure or light, troublesome or easy, if 
it leads us to perfection and happiness. 
This consideration alone should compose 
my mind, and make me say, with resigna- 
tion, in all imaginable cases — '' It is the 
Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." 
It is true thy thoughts are not as our 
thoughts, nor thy ways as our ways. Our 
views are bounded by a small circle of ob- 



On Providence. 39 

jects, and we behold but a small part of 
the universe. But thou takest in at one 
view, all times and all places j all that is 
possible, and all that really exists, the past 
as well as the most distant futurity. Thou 
seest at one glance of thine eye, the im- 
mense chain of causes and effects in all 
ages, and in all worlds. What we con- 
sider as ends, are often no more than 
means to attain more important ends. 
What we regard as evil, is often only a 
preservative from evil, much more con- 
siderable, and even a fruitful source of 
new blessings. 

Far, then, from permitting the least 
murmur against the unsearchable ways of 
Providence, I put my hand upon my 
mouth and say^ — Father, not as I will, 
but as thou wilt. The time is coming 
when my faith shall be turned into sight s 
then shall I be enlightened with heavenly 
light ; then what I here saw through a 
glass darkly shall be perfectly revealed. — 



40 Exercises of Piety. 

Though clouds and darkness are now 
rou^d about the proceedings of the Most 
High, I shall then see, without an inter- 
vening cloud, thy sublime designs, the 
wisdom of the means by which they were 
accomplished, and their connexion with 
my happy lot. Then shall I sing with 
all glorified spirits, Hallelujah — the Lord 
God Omnipotent reigneth — ^^All that the 
Lord hath done is good — Praise ye the 
Lord ! 



ON FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 

— y 

It is a true and faithful saying, 
that Jesus Christ came into the world to 
save sinners. The dignity of his charac- 
ter, the beneficence and innocence of his 
life, the sublime and consolatory nature 
of his doctrines, the disinterested manner 
in which he and his apostles taught them 
to mankind, the remarkable and unheard 
of treatment with which he met, his death 
and resurrection, the happy change which 
his religion produced in the world — these 
are so many plain and well known facts, 
resting on evidence which must be more 
than sufficient to obtain for them an en- 
tire credit and a fixed belief. And this 
belief is absolutely necessary for those who 
earnestly long for the knowledge of truth, 
and a satisfactory assurance on points the 
most important ^ and who earnestly desire 

D 2 



42 Exercises of Piety. 

to be confirmed in virtue, and enjoy a dur- 
able tranquillity. 

How deplorable was the condition of 
the human race, before Jesus Christ 
brought into the world the light of truth ! 
How many errors were embraced, even by 
the wisest and most enlightened of man- 
kind ! From what source could they de- 
rive that steady conviction, that firm as- 
surance, that solid peace, those exalted 
hopes, that delightful confidence in God^ 
Vv'hich are the portion of the Christian ? 
The most absurd idolatries and supersti- 
tious customs, the most dangerous incred- 
ulity and scepticism, the grossest sensual- 
ity, the most dreadful misery and despair, 
had extended on all sides their dominion 
over the earth. And who will venture to 
deny, that the doctrine of Jesus Christ 
hath produced in these respects the great- 
est and happiest revolution in the v/orld ; 
a change which all the wishes and all the 



Faith in Jesus Christ. 4S 

efforts of the heathen philosophers could 
never effect I 

Is it not Jesus who hath marked out 
and cleared the path of truth, of virtue, 
and of happiness, which so many mortals 
sought before him but could never find ? 
How many thousands and millions of 
men have arrived by this path into that 
firm persuasion, that precious liberty, that 
noble conquest over themselves — ^to that 
sweet peace of mind, to that contentment 
and internal felicity, after which they 
had so long aspired. How many are 
there at the present day who walk with a 
serene mind, and an unshaken confidence 
in this road, and approach nearer and 
nearer to perfection. Is it not now much 
easier for mankind to improve themselves, 
to attend to the voice of nature, to con- 
sult their reason, and to avoid, by the light 
of this heavenly torch, the dark and crook- 
ed paths into which men formerly wan- 
dered ? 



44f Exercises of Piety. 

How much am I myself indebted to the 
Christian doctrine ! And how much hap- 
pier may I not yet become by its assistance ? 
I am brought acquainted with God — I 
know that he is my father, the only living 
and true God j a Being eternal, infinitely 
wise and good j the Creator, Preserver and 
Governor of all things y the King of 
heaven and earth. I know that he is mer- 
ciful and kind, even to the greatest of sin- 
ners ; and when they repent and amend, 
will forgive their sins, and receive them 
into his favor. I know that my soul is 
immortal, and that after the present life a 
more perfect and happy state, a state of 
retribution, awaits me. But I should 
have been unacquainted with all these 
things, how agreeable soever I now find 
them to the light of reason, or I should 
have known them but imperfectly, if Jesus 
Christ had not revealed them to mankind 
by commission from his Father. And 
how could I be so serene and happy as I 



Faith in Jesus Christ. 45 

now am, if I had been ignorant of these 
doctrines, or called in question their certain- 
ty and truth. Do they not spread a cheer- 
ing light on alJ my being and on all the e- 
vents of my life ? Do they not give more sta- 
bility, a better foundation, and a greater 
importance to my thoughts, principles and 
actions ? And if I obey the precepts of Je- 
sus, if I imitate his example, if I am ani- 
mated by his spirit, how wise, good^ 
peaceful and happy shall I become ? How 
easy will the practice of my duty be to 
me ? It will then cost me but little to gain 
the conquest of myself, and to live and die 
contented. With what zeal shall I do good ; 
what peace will reign in my heart ^ what 
agreement and harmony in my sentiments, 
inclinations and conduct ? With what 
joy shall I think of God, with what feel- 
ings of benevolence and charity shall I re- 
gard my fellow creatures ; vv^ith what no- 
ble confidence shall I look forward tOv 
death and an eternal world ? 



46 Exercises of Piety. 

And shall I yet doubt, after all that my 
experience teaches me, whether this doc- 
trine come from God, the Father of light, 
the Author and source of all happiness ? 
Shall I still doubt whether it be the safest 
and the shortest road to perfection and 
felicity ? Shall I not embrace, with a lively 
faith, a religion which in all respects bears 
the evident marks of a celestial origin, 
and which must appear so desirable to ev- 
ery man whose mind is free from preju- 
dice, and whose heart is uncorrupted — 
a religion which is so necessary to my 
tranquillity and peace ? Shall I not re- 
gard it as the most precious gift of heaven 
to mankind ? , Shall I not acknowledge 
Jesus to be the organ of truth, the Savior, 
the Redeemer of the world ? And shall I 
not testify the sincerest gratitude for all 
that he hath undertaken and suffered for 
us ? Shall I not obey him with my whole 
heart ? Shall I not cheerfully follow his 
steps, and endeavor more and more to re- 



Faith in Jesus Christ. 47 

scmble him, that I may be exalted to the 
glory and felicity of heaven ? 

O God, who art the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, accept my praises and 
thanksgivings for having called me to the 
knowledge of the Gospel, and for disclos- 
ing to me in the Christian doctrine, so 
much light, encouragement, consolation 
and happiness. Every good and perfect 
gift Cometh down from above, from the 
Father of Lights, and consequently Christ- 
ianity — which imparts to us such just 
and certain knowledge of thy nature and 
will 5 which inspires such perfect confi- 
dence in thy paternal bounty 3 which gives 
us the assurance of thy grace and mercy. 
— May no tormenting doubts, no tumult- 
uous passions ever disturb so pure a spring, 
and make me distaste these wholesome wa- 
ters of life ! The most ardent wish of my 
heart, O my God, shall be to deserve, by 
my conduct, the title of Christian; to 
feel, more and more, the power of the 



43 Exercises of Piety. 

Gospel ; to enjoy its privileges with grat- 
itude y to distinguish myself from unbe- 
lievers, by w^isdom and virtue, the seren- 
ity and peace of my mind, and by these 
means to recommend the Gospel to their 
esteem and regard. Condescend to favor 
my wishes by thy wise and good Providence. 
Strengthen my faith in this heavenly doc- 
trine ; and may this faith becomiC a more 
active principle, and more fruitful of good 
works. Let the kingdom of the Messiah 
be extended and enlarged throughout the 
earthe Let Christianity be purified from 
all human inventions, and let its salutary 
influence be every day more powerfully 
and universally experienced. 



THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

Enlightened by the Gospel, 

I have already learnt to tliink and reason 
with more clearness and precision on this 
important doctrine. When a person has 
once got into the path of truth, it becomes 
easy for him to advance and pass on from 
one truth to another. The ideas which the 
Christian Religion has given me of God, 
of his infinite perfections, of his eternal 
love to men, of 'his mode of governing 
moral agents^ of his will and designs — all 
these considerations lead me to entertain 
the hope of immortaUty. The Gospel 
raises this hope to the highest degree of 
certainty. Reason and scripture unite to 
confirm this delightful doctrine. 

With a little reflection I can easily sat- 
isfy myself, that what thinks within me — 
that my mind is of a nature totally differ- 
ent from my body — that it is a principle 



so Exercises of Piety. 

directed, not by mechanical, but by moral 
laws. I think — but I can, without any 
external impression, interrupt or contin- 
ue my thoughts, divert them into another 
channel, or fix them upon any particular 
subject that pleases me. I put my body 
in motion y but I can, without any exter- 
nal obstacle, stop this motion, and give it 
an opposite direction, I exercise my will, 
and my will alone moves a multitude of 
bodies, in a great variety of ways. I com- 
municate my thoughts to beings like my- 
self, and by this means I can regulate 
their thoughts, and influence their opin- 
ions, designs and actions, without the least 
infringement on their liberty. No mere 
body can act in this manner, and thus 
raise itself above the laws of mechanism. 
That which thinks within me, then, is 
somewhat totally different from my body. 
I can lose a considerable part of my body 
without losing one of my ideas. My body 
h perpetually changing and renewing, 



Immortality. 51 

nevertheless, I always retain the sense of 
my existence, and of my identity. How 
intimately connected soever my body and 
my mind may be, it does not follow^ that 
the latter may not exist without the form- 
er, and that the destruction of the body 
will necessarily draw after it that of the 
soul. Far from it. The nature of my 
soul is so different, and so superior, that I 
am persuaded that it will not perish with 
the body, but exist after the body is dead. 
The consideration of my mental facul- 
ties, my present situation, and the relations 
in which I stand, greatly confirm this be- 
lief. I observe, ia myself and others, the 
precious seeds of a multitude of excellent 
qualities, and exalted pov/ers, which are 
capable of perpetually unfolding and en- 
larging their activity, and v/hich yet are 
incapable cf being fully unfolded and ex- 
panded in the present state. To what nar- 
row bounds are the faculties of my soul 
confined by the continual wants and occu- 



52 Exercises of Piety. 

pations of life. How often do these things 
hinder me from making that progress 
which I could wish in the knowledge of 
truth, the practice of virtue, and the road 
to happiness. The daily laborer, the me- 
chanic, the manufacturer, Have they not 
souls endued with the same faculties with 
the statesman to whom the welfare of a 
nation is entrusted, or with the man of 
learninp; versed in the sublimest sciences ? 
Would not the former, placed in the same 
circumstances with the latter, be equally 
capable of the same attainments ? And 
where is the human mind which hath re- 
ceived all the cultivation of which it is sus- 
ceptible, and which would not unfold still 
more in more favorable situations ? And is 
it possible that so many noble powers 
should remain forever concealed, and never 
arrive at all the improvement of which 
they are capable ? — No — In the govern- 
ment of a Being infinitely wise, there can 
be no such disproportion between the 



Immortality. oZ 

cause and the effect, the means and the 
end. Every one of my faculties^ then, is 
a proof and a pledge of my futureexistence, 
and of the great thmgs which at some fu- 
ture period I shall be able to perform for 
myself and my brethren. — Every thing in- 
forms me that my present state is a scene 
of trial and discipline — that in this world 
I do not attain the end for which I was 
formed. Born into the world without 
knowledge, I must incessantly labor to in- 
form m.y m/md, and I have wtvtx finished 
learning. It is not without troublesome 
exertion that I acquire a facility of em- 
ploying my powers. Scarcely have I be- 
gun to improve my faculties, to discover 
the footsteps of truth, to distinguish reali-- 
ty from appearance, good from evil, hap- 
piness from misery ; scarcely have Ibegun 
to enjoy the advantages my knowledge 
procures me, before the scene of discipline 
and of m-ortal life closes. But is it to no 
purpose^ then, that I have infor mcd my 

E Z 



54 Exercises of Piety. 

mind, and exercised my abilities ? Can I 
never make use of the knowledge I have 
acquired, and the faculties I have culti- 
vated, with so much care ? Shall I never 
reap the fruits of my labor and pains ? 
Why all this provision, these many and 
troublesome preparations, if it lead to no 
end ? Can such a useless profusion exist 
under the government of an infinitely wise 
God ? Do not the schools in which youth 
are educated, previously suppose a state of 
society in which they are hereafter to be 
usefully employed ? Is it to be imagined 
that a race of creatures thus furnished and 
fitted out, should vanish like bubbles in a 
storm ? Can I believe that God alone acts 
without an end, and without a plan ^ or^ 
that he is incapable of accomplishing the 
end he proposes to himself ? No — if it be 
evident that all I see below resembles the 
means, rather than the end ; if all is rath- 
er begun than finished 5 if it be certain that 
I live in a state of trial and discipline ; it 



Lnmortality. 55 

is no less clear that God will raise me, af- 
ter this short life, to new opportunities for 
making use of my faculties and talents^ 
and for attaining the perfection for which 
he prepares me in this school of discipline. 
What cheerful prospects open to my 
view, when I think on the relations in 
which I stand to God, and on the happi- 
ness to be derived from union with the 
Divinity. I earnestly desire better to know 
my God, and to be more intimately united 
to my Creator, and more and more to re- 
semble him. And will GoD annihilate a 
being animated with such desires, who 
burns with love to him, and wishes to 
love him eternally ? Will he annihilate a 
child whom he has rendered capable of 
knowing, of serving, and of delighting in 
him, and to whom he hath given so many 
proofs of paternal tenderness ? No — ^he is 
my father, and hath already done too 
much, for me to harbor a fear that he will 
^ ever abandon me* He will not leave his 



56 Exercises of Piely. 

work imperfect. He alone couid inspire 
me with the ardent desire of uniting my- 
self to him ; and, as he is truth itself, he 
cannot fail to satisfy it. 

But I am a Christian, and I have an 
this head the most positive promises from 
God, which entirely remove every doubt. 
Life and immortality are the consoling 
truths which my Savior brought from 
heaven. To confirm them he died on the 
cross, and rose from the dead. 

How happy am I in knowing the Gos- 
pel — because he lives, I shall live also. — 
Where he is, there shall his follower be — 
the more I imitate him on earth, the more 
shall I resemble him in heaven. Yes, I 
am immortal. The present is properly 
but the infancy of my being. It is mere- 
ly preparatory for, and introductory to, a 
higher and happier state of existence. 

O thou Eternal Source of being and of 
life, accept of my sincere and devout thanks- 
givings, for raising me to this reviving and^ 



ImmGrtality. 57 

sublime hope, and for giving me the full- 
est evidence of its truth, by thy son Jesus 
Christ. He is, in truth, the Resurrection 
and the Life. He hath brought life and 
immortality to light by his Gospel. He 
hath conquered death, and dissipated the 
fears and terrors it inspired. 

How delightful is it now, for me to 
think of Thee, O my God, and of the re- 
lations in which I stand to Thee ! Now I 
can hope to pass continually from one im- 
mense theatre of thy power to another, to 
be perpetually discoverhig new traces of 
wisdom and goodness, and to be eternally 
employed in admiring the v^orks of thy 
hands. 

A new and ravishing prospect opens to 
my eyes ; a scene of more noble employ- 
ments, of purer pleasures, and of a felicity 
better suited to my desires and faculties. 
Here below I see things through a glass^ 
darkly ; there I shall see things as they 
really are. Here I exert my powers but 



58 Exercises of Piety. 

in feeble endeavors ; there I shall exercise 
them in the most certain and happy effect. 
Here I think and act like a child — I judge, 
I rejoice, and afflict myself like a child; 
there, arrived at maturity, I shall think 
and act as a perfect man. If my knowl 
edge be at present confined within narrow- 
bounds, I will not be distressed. I go 
shortly into an eternal world, where ] 
shall make continual improvements in the 
knowledge of truth. — The book of nature 
shall not always be a book which I cannot 
read j nor the Temple of Truth be always 
so inaccessible as I at present find it. I go 
to a world where I shall learn better to 
read the one and penetrate the other. — 
How intimately is the present scene con- 
nected v,^ith the future ! All that I think, 
all that I do, all that actually befalls me, 
has an influence on my eternal destiny. — 
Now I sow. One day I shall reap. Now 
I labor, endure and suffer. One day I shall 
gather the fruit of my toils, and be re 



Immortality, 59 

compensed for my sufferings. Now I 
prepare for enjoyment. One day I shall 
be put in possession. This is the time of 
trial and discipline — that of retribution 
shall soon arrive. And shall I confine all 
my thoughts to the present moment ? 
Shall I choose and seek for nothing but 
what will produce an immediate gratifica- 
tion ? Shall I be unconcerned about eter- 
nity ? No — oh my God, I would live as 
becomes my celestial destination, and think 
and act as an immortal creature. 

Oh my God ! what is man — what am 
I, that thou shouldst condescend to render 
me capable of eternal felicity ! O m*ay the 
idea of the dignity of my nature, the no- 
bleness of my origin, and the grandeur of 
my destination, be never effaced from my 
mind. Never will I forget that I am cre- 
ated in thy image, and that I am thy child. 
Never will I degrade my nature, and be- 
come the willing slave of sin and vice. — 
Assist me, O Heavenly Father, and let thy 



60 Exercises of Piet\\ 

spirit sustain and strengthen mine, that, 
properly estimating the advantages 1 en- 
joy^ I may learn rightly to improve them, 
and thus become happier through eternity. 
• Let my body wither like the flower of 
the field, and return to the dust, from 
whence it was taken. It is a coarse cov- 
ering which I resign to corruption Vv^ithout 
regret. My mind, incorruptible, shall rise 
above the dust, and return to God who 
gave it. I shall one day be clothed with 
a more perfect and durable covering — a 
glorious and celestial body, resembling that 
of my exalted Savior. 

My days now fly away with rapidity, 
and my life disappears as a fleeting dream. 
But what are a few days, and months, and 
years — what is the whole life of man to 
one who perceives himself to be immortal, 
and who is hastening to eternity ? 

No — neither death nor the grave can 
alarm or frighten me. O God, who hast 
formed my mind, and made it capable of 






Immortality. 61 

rising and still rising in the scale of being 
towards thyself, thou wilt not leave my 
soul in the grave. — Death is only a passage 
to a better life. — Whether it come this 
day or the next, I will commit my de- 
parting spirit into thy hands. — If I die, O 
my God, thou wilt receive me unto thy- 
self. By death thou wilt bring thy child 
from labor to repose, from combat to vic- 
tory, and from the age of infancy to man- 
hood. Sublime hopes — delightful pros- 
pects^ be ye always present to my mind I 



ON LOVE TO GOD. 



O GOD, thou art love itself ! The 
book of nature, and the book of revelation 
teach this truth; and ray heart — that 
heart which thou hast formed to love Thee, 
and v^hich thou hast made capable of tast- 
ing this exquisite pleasure — will not per- 
mit me to doubt it. 

Thou art the origin and source of all 
the variety of beauties and perfections that 
are dispersed throughout the earth: AH 
that is great and amiable unite in Thee, 
To will, and to do good — this is thy di- 
vine essence. Thou regardest all the be- 
ings thou hast formed with paternal affec- 
tion. Thou takest care of them s thou 
doest them good. All that comes from 
Thee, O thou Supreme ! All that proceeds 
from thy hand, good and evil, pleasure 
and pain, prosperity and adversity, favors 
and chastisements, ail tend to promote our 
felicity, all are adapted to exalt us to great- 
er perfection. 



Lonse to God. 63 

I myself, who am so inconsiderable a 
creature, who am as nothing when com- 
pared with the rest of thy creation, I can 
every moment draw comfort from this in- 
exhaustible source. In what intimate re-- 
lations do I stand to Thee ? Thou art my 
Creator — I am the work of thy hands. 
Thou art my Sovereign, and I am thy 
subject. Thou art my Father, and I am 
thy child. Can I be connected Vvdth Thee 
by stronger and more endearing ties ? Can 
any thing give a juster claim to all the af- 
fections of my heart than these natural 
and indissoluble relations give ? And art 
thou not the kindest, the most bountiful, 
the tenderest and most affectionate Fa- 
ther ? Am I not indebted to Thee, for life 
and breath, and all things ? 

How various and great are the gifts and 
benefits which thou hast heaped upon me, 
and which thou still continuest to bestow 1 
All that I am, all that I have, all that I 
am capable of being, is the effect of thy 



64 Exercises of Piety. 

munificence. Thy bounty provides for 
the wants of my body and my soul. With 
how many advantages, comforts, pleas- 
ures and joys, hast thou strewed my path ? 
What assistance dost thou grant to my 
weakness, with what indulgence dost thou 
bear with my sins, and with what tender 
solicitude dost thou recal me from my wan- 
derings. With what wisdom dost thou 
conduct and direct my lot, and all that 
shall befall me. 

But how can I speak of the unmerited 
and inestimable tokens of thy love which 
Thou hast given me by Jesus Christ, 
through whom thou hast taught me to 
hope for the forgiveness of sins, the aids 
of thy spirit, and everlasting life. 

Yes, O my God, thou art essentially 
bountiful and good, and wilt be so 
forever. I find myself as much sur- 
rounded with thy mercies as I am 
with the light which shines around 
me. I have daily experience, that to do 



Loi^e to God. 65 

good and to bless is thy eternal employ- 
ment. 

And shall I not love Thee with all my 
heart, and soul, and mind, and strength ? 
Shall not the idea of thy existence and 
amiable attributes become the most nat- 
ural, and most delightful and consoling 
idea I am capable of forming. Can I 
think of Thee, O my God — of Thee who 
art my Creator, my Benefactor, my Fa- 
ther, as well as of all other beings — with- 
out experiencing the most delightful sat- 
isfaction, without feeling the most lively 
transports of gratitude and joy ? I rejoice 
in Thee, O my God, I rejoice in thinking 
that Thou existest, that Thou art an eter- 
nal and infinitely perfect Being. I re- 
joice in thinking of the close relations 
which unite me to Thee. I rejoke in 
thinking on the w^ays of thy providencep 
on the manner in Vv^hich thou hast ar- 
ranged all things in the natural and mor-- 
al world. I rejoice to think that every 

F 2 



66 Exercises of Piety. 

thing takes place by thy will, that it is 
Thou who orderest and directest all things j 
that all is good and perfect in its kind ; 
that all is the effect and proof of thine in- 
finite love. It is in this light I would 
henceforward see all things ; blessings and 
afflictions, pleasures and pains, all that be- 
falls others and myself. I will not forget 
that all things come from Thee, provided by 
thy wisdom and bestowed by thy love. My 
joy, my happiness, shall always consist in 
loving Thee, in conforming my will to 
thine, in resigning myself entirely into thy 
hands as into the hands ot the best of fa- 
thers, and hereby strengthening more and 
more the ties which unite me to Thee. 

It is true my gross senses, and the dif- 
ferent ties which unite me to the earth, do 
not permit me so often to elevate my soul 
to Thee, nor to perceive thine adorable 
perfections and august presence in that 
lively manner, my soul desires, in the rno- 
ments consecrated to piety j but I will 



L(^e to God. 67 

cherish the hope that I shall hereafter 
know Thee better, adore Thee more wor- 
thily, unite myself more closely to Thee^ 
and love thee with more ardor ; and then 
shall I experience, in contemplating Thee^ 
O my God, the most pure and most rav- 
ishing joy. 



ON LOVE TO JESUS CHRIST, 

O MY Savior, when I read the 
history of thy life, how is my admiration 
excited, my gratitude enkindled, my love 
infiamed and my faith confirmed ! Wheth- 
er I mix in the crov^^d that follows Thee, 
or join the small number of thy beloved 
disciples, to listen to the instructions flov/- 
ing from thy divine lips — whether I ac- 
company Thee to the temple, mingle in 
the company of thy friends or enemies, or 
go with Thee to the solitary mountains 
or the peaceful town of Bethlehem — 
whether I behold Thee surrounded with 
little children^ or the infirm, the diseased, 
the poor and the distressed — whether I 
hear those around Thee crying, Hosanna 
to the Son of David, or crucify him, cru- 
cify him— whether I contemplate Thee 
acting or sufi^ering, Thou appearest always 
the same 5 meek and humble, patient and 
resigned ; supplying the necessitous, re^ 



Lo'^e to Jesus Christ. 69 

lieving the distressed, instructing the ig- 
norant, and laboring with unwearied zeal 
for the reformation and the happiness of 
the human race. 

How can I think of Thee without ex- 
periencing the most lively admiration, the 
most exalted gratitude and the purest love ? 
Thou hast heaped on me innumerable fa- 
vors J thou hast brought me to the knowl- 
edge of truths the most sublime and con- 
solatory, and hast guided me in the path 
of light, w^here I find so much joy and sat- 
isfaction. If I no longer groan in the 
darkness of idolatry, and under the bond- 
age of vice and superstition j if I no lon- 
ger tremble at the idea of God, as of a se- 
vere master and inexorable judge ^ if I no 
longer consider death with fear and ter- 
ror, as the termination of my existence 
and my happinesS'— it is to Thee I am in- 
debted. Thou hast opened my heart to 
the sweetest hopes, and hast disclosed to 
the eyes of my faith the most cheering 



70 Exercises of Piety. 

prospects. Art thou not my Savior? 
Am I not the object of thy compassion, 
whom thou hast rescued from perdition ? 
YeSe — -It is by thy doctrine I am brought 
from darkness to light, from misery to 
happiness. Thou hast loosed my bonds ; 
Thou hast set me free, and put me into 
a condition of rejoicing in my liberty. He 
whom thou hast freed, O Son of the Most 
High, is free indeed ! 

Art thou not my forerunner and my 
guide in the road of virtue and felicity ? 
Am I not thy follower 5 and ought I not 
to walk in thy steps ? Thou hast smooth- 
ed the path of life, and leadest me in the 
way in which I should go. Conducted 
by thy spirit, I shall walk with a firm and 
steady step and shall finally arrive at the 
mark to which thou callest me. What 
acknowledgments do I owe Thee ! Tc 
what height of felicity hast thou raisec 
me J and how much happier still may 
become by thine assistance ! 



Lo'oe to Jesus Christ. 71 

Bat in order to procure all these advan- 
tages and blessings for me and for my 
brethren, how many hardships hast Thou 
experienced, how many sacrifices hast 
Thou made, to what humiliations hast 
Thou submitted! What a toilsome life 
hast Thou led, and v/hat grievous afflic- 
tions hast Thou endured ! Thou hast gen- 
erously sacrificed thyself for us. Thou 
hast died that we might live, and be eter- 
nally happy. Can there be a more con- 
vincing proof of love than that of yielding 
life for our friends ? And Thou, generous 
Benefactor of mankind, Thou hast done 
still more, Thcu hast died for us v/ho nei- 
ther knew Thee nor loved Thee. 

And shall I be so ungrateful as not to 
love Thee, who hast first loved me, and 
who hast obtained such astonishing bles- 
sings for me ? When I muse on all these 
things, I feel my heart burn within me ^ 
I am filled Vv^ith gratitude and joy, and I 
ardently desire more and more to resem.- 



72 Exercises of ' Piety. 

ble Thee. The thought that Thou art 
my Master, my Guide, my Savior, my 
Lord, and my King, and that I am thy 
disciple, thy follower, thy subject, shall be 
my boast and my happiness. Constrain- 
ed by thy love, I will cordially obey thy 
laws, and cheerfully Imitate thy example, 
governed by the spirit of true affection, 
every hardship is easy, every burden light. 
Command me to any duty, however pain- 
ful and laborious, I will welcome thy 
wilL Bid me take up my cross, and sac- 
rifice my pleasures and earthly prospects, 
I follow thy footsteps with resignation 
and joy. I will take the liveliest inter- 
est in all that Thou hast done, taught, 
and suffered. I will rejoice in thy grace 
and benevolence to the human race, and 
will endeavor to make all around me ac- 
quainted with our obligations to Thee. I 
sincerely rejoice Thou art gone to the Fa- 
ther, as our advocate and prevailing inter- 
cessor : And that Thou hast gone to pre- 



Love to Jesus Christ. 7S 

pare mansions of blessedness for those 
who love thee, that where thou art they 
may be also. 

Blessed and glorious Savior, accept our 
praise ! Blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power be unto Him who sitteth on 
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever 
and ever. 



ON LOVE TO MANKIND. 



As God is Love itself, so his great 
commandment in nature and religion is 
fraternal Love. We are formed by nature 
to take a part in the pleasures and pains 
of our fellowcreatures ; and the exercise 
of this affection for others, is the source of 
the purest and the sweetest pleasures to 
ourselves. We cannot with a generous 
heart assist our brethren, do them a kind- 
ness, and bear, on their account, a trouble 
or a loss, without feeling an elevation 
of mind, and an addition to our happi- 
ness J and never do we shut our hearts to 
love^ — ^never do we open them to envy, ha- 
tred and enmity, v/ithout disturbing the 
peace of our minds, and rendering our- 
selves more or less unhappy. So clearly is 
it thy Vv^ill, O my God, that we should love 
one another. So audible is the voice of 
nature which speaks in favor of our breth- 
ren, and which resounds to the bottom of 
the heart. 



Lo'oe to Mankind. 75 

Thou, O God, hast so interwoven our 
reciprocal interests, our pleasures and our 
pains, all our employments, labors, de- 
signs and hopes : Thou hast so connect- 
ed us together, that it is in the bosom of 
society^ and in the mutual exertion of our 
powers, we can alone attain the end of our 
existence, and enjoy all the happiness of 
which we are susceptible. Could man- 
kind be capable of existing in an independ- 
ent state, or, what is the same, a state of 
equality, the noblest affections of the hu- 
man breast would languish and die with- 
out an object for their exertion \ human 
nature would degenerate into savageness, 
and the solitary individual, lost to all sense 
of what is great and liberal, would know 
no happiness himself by having no inter- 
est in the happiness of others. But in 
that state of mutual dependence in which 
Thou, the great Parent of mankind, hast 
placed us, an intercourse of mutual good 
offices is kept up, habits of reciprocal af- 



f 6 Exercises of Piety. 

fection are formed, and general order and 
harmony promoted. 

When I consider the relations which 
subsist between my brethren and myself, I 
am naturally led to consider what frater- 
nal affection I should feel for tlitm. — 
Thou hast united us, O my God, by a 
thousand ties. The same blood runs in 
cur veins ^ members of the same family, 
w^e all descend from the first man whom 
Thou createdst, and we all adore Thee as 
our common Parent. We have all the 
same origin, the same nature^ and the same 
destination. The small and great, subjects 
and sovereigns, are all formed from the 
same dust, and shall all, sooner or later, 
return to it. But we have within us what 
is more noble and divine ; a mind that 
can raise itself to the knowledge of Thee, 
and unite itself to Thee, who art the Fa- 
ther of spirits. Endued with the same 
faculties, with the same corporeal and 
mental powers ; reason and Hberty are our 



Lon^e to Mankind. 77 

greatest ornament. The traces of thy di- 
vine image shine equally in the poorest 
and richest, in the highest and lowest of 
mankind. Subjected to the same wants, 
we are united by a variety of ties. No 
one can do without his brethren, or is 
sufficient by himself 5 no one can be ex- 
clusively happy. Thou hast so interwov- 
en our pleasures and pains, w^ith the 
pains and pleasures of others, that, with- 
out reciprocal assistance, we can neither 
taste the one, nor sustain the other ; and 
whatever may be our external situation^ 
the great purpose of our being is the same. 
This life is to each of us the school, the 
scene of discipline and trial 5 and immor- 
tality our common hope. 

And shall I not love beings so closely 
connected w^ith me, and who resemble me 
in so many things ? Shall I be cold and 
indifferent with respect to them ? Shall I 
even permit myself to hate them ? Shall 
I not know them w^hen I meet them in 
G 2 



73 Exercises of Piety. 

the garb of indigence, and the tatters of 
poverty ? Shall I be ashamed of being 
their relation, their companion, their 
brother ? Shall I treat them as beings of 
an inferior species, and withhold from 
them the affection and concern which I 
owe them ? If this were the case, dare I 
continue to boast of being a man ? Could 
I say that I perceive, that I feel the dig- 
raty of my nature ? 

Can I, especially, sustain the character 
of a Christian, if I am not actuated by a 
sincere and generous affection for all men ? 
Is not the whole of Christianity summed 
up in love ? Is not this the object which 
all its instructions, all its precepts, all its 
promises are employed to attain ? " By 
this," says Christ, ^' shall all men know 
that ye are my disciples, if ye love one an- 
other." 

Every m.an, then, whatever be his name, 
his rank, his station, his condition, his 
country, or religion — every man is my 



Love to ManVind. 79 

neighbor and my brother j every man is 
thy work and thy child, O thou Creator 
of the human race ! Beloved and cherish- 
ed by Thee, he ought to be so by me. No 
one ought to be indifferent to me, no one 
ought to be excluded from my affection. 
Far from despising and hating them, I 
will regard them all with that benevolence 
with which thou regardest them. 

Nothing which relates to them, noth- 
ing which happens to them, shall be in- 
different to me. I will weep with them 
that weep, and rejoice with them that re- 
joice. What interests my fellowcreatures 
shall be interesting to me. The evils they 
suffer, the blessings they enjoy, are bles- 
sings and evils common to human nature, 
belonging equally to the great family of 
v/hich I am a member. And what sight 
can be more pleasing to Thee, O Heaven- 
ly Father, than that of thy children unit- 
ed together in love, having but one heart 
and one soul ? 



80 Exercises of Piety. 

If I am animated with these sentiments, 
my love v/ill be neither barren nor un- 
fruitful. It will direct me in all my con- 
duct, and influence every action. 1 shall 
do with pleasure what it requires, and a- 
void what it forbids. I shall harbor no 
thought, I shall cherish no wish, I shall 
utter no word, I shall pass no judgment, 
I shall form no designs, execute no un- 
dertaking, and enjoy no pleasures, which 
may be inconsistent with love. Influenc- 
ed by this generous principle, I shall cheer- 
fully sacrifice my own personal advantage 
for the general good. I shall be will- 
ing to labor and suffer for others. I 
shall live to be useful to them, and to 
return the kindnesses they have done me. 
As far as I can, I will deliver them from 
the burdens with which they are oppress- 
ed, or lighten their weight. I v/ill remove 
from their path the stone of stumbling, 
second their good intentions, befriend 
their useful undertakings^ and do all in 



Loz'e to Mankhid. 81 

my power to unite them more and more 
to each other. I will countenance, as far 
as depends on me, the progress of truth 
and of virtue, of liberty and happiness ; 
and spread, to the utmost of my ability, 
content and joy in the circle in which I 
move. This is what love requires of me> 
and to these obiects all my efforts shall be 
directed. 

But let me now inquire what hath 
hitherto been my conduct in th^? respect ^. 
What eood or what evil have I done ? 
Have I injured or afHicted zxv: one ? Have 
none of my brethren a ground of com- 
plaint against me r Is there no one weep- 
ing under the wrongs I have done him ? 
Is there no poor, unfortunate person, 
whom I might have relieved, and to whom 
I have refused assistance ? No feeble crea- 
ture, no sinner, Vvhose frailties and faults 
I ought to have borne v/ith 3 whose a- 
mendment I should have tried by frater- 
nal remonstrances to have effected ; and 



82 Exercises of Piety* 

whom, instead of this, I have made to feel . 
the effects of my anger and wrath ? Is 
there no one in a low condition whom I 
have treated with haughtiness, no timid 
and modest person whom I have tyran- 
nized over and oppressed r Is there no one 
who, at this moment, is lamenting my 
conduct towards him ? Have I judged no 
one v/ith too much severity, and reproach- 
ed no one unjustly ? Alas 1 If at this mo- 
ment any one of my fellowcreatures is 
shedding a tear on my account, or expe- 
riencing some disappointment through my 
misconduct, how can I look up to Thee, 
my God ? How dare I call Thee Father, 
and consider myself as thy child, if I have 
hardened my heart against the distresses of 
others ! Let me, then, draw to my bosom 
my brother, whom I have injured or af- 
flicted, take from him all occasion of dis- 
satisfaction, wipe away all tears, and tes- 
tify to him my repentance ! 



Love to MankimL S3 

I will do what I can to repair the iri« 
jury. I will not be ashamed to acknowl- 
edge my fault and to correct it, were it 
my inferior, my servant, or the lowest per- 
son upon earth that I have injured. For 
the least as well as the greatest is my broth» 
er, the child of my heavenly Father, to 
whom I owe as much affection as to oth- 
ers. O God ! Confirm me in this pur- 
pose and give me strength to execute it j 
and let the purest and the liveliest love 
penetrate and inflame my heart, and let it 
make me more and more to resemble 
Thee, who art Love^ and who dwellest in 
Love. 



LOVE OF LABOR ; OR, ATTACHMENT TO 
THE DUTIES OF OUR CONDITION. 



XhOU hast designed us, Oh God, 
for action and labor, and Thou hast con- 
nected the greatest advantages and the 
sweetest pleasures with an active and m- 
dustrious life. Woe to him who, forget- 
ting the design of his being, gives himself 
up to sloth and idleness. Peace and con- 
tentment fly far from him. Dissatisfac- 
tion and weariness attend his steps ; shame 
and misery will sooner or later be his por- 
tion. 

It is only when I make a proper use of 
my abilities, when I fulfil with fidelity 
and exactness the duties of my station, and 
successfully contribute to the public good j 
it is then, alone, I taste the pure pleasures 
of existence ^ it is then only I can with 
comfort account to myself, and to Thee, 
my Creator, for the employment of my 
powers, my time, and m.y advantages-f 
Then alone I can look with an eye of sat- 



Lo'-oe of Labor. 85 

isfaction, at the close of each day, on the 
employments m which I have been engag- 
ed, and meet with cheerfulness, those of 
the morrow \ and hope as the price of my 
labor, for an abundant harvest. Then 
alone, arrived at the end of ray career, I 
shall be able to recai the past without 
confusion and regret \ and the idea, that 
every day of my life has been marked by 
some good action, by some virtuous ef- 
fort, shall fill me with joy in the arms of 
death. 

Yes, Oh my God, I revere and adore 
thy wisdom and goodness in the natural and 
moral disposition of things. I perceive, 
and I am convinced hov/ indispensable is 
the obligation I am under to lead an active 
and laborious life, and faithfully to fulfil 
the duties of my station. May I never 
forget this obligation, and endeavor every 
day of my life more punctually to dis- 



charge it. 



H 



86 Exercises of Fiety. 

All my faculties, all my powers, O God, 
all my abilities, all the means of service I 
possess, are the gifts of thy bounty, are tal- 
ents which Thou hast entrusted to my im- 
provement. At the last day I shall be o- 
bliged to give an account of the use I have 
made of them. 

Thou, who art the sovereign disposer of 
all things, hast placed me in my present 
station. Thou hast entrusted me with 
certain offices relative to the happiness of 
thy children on earth. And shall I not be 
heartily concerned worthily to fill my 
place, to contribute all in my power to the 
well being of thy great family, of v^'hich I 
am a member ? 

Thou hast connected me with my breth- 
ren, by an infinite variety of ties. • I can- 
not do without their assistance. Every 
day they perform for me the most im- 
portant services^, and shall I confine myself 
to receiving and enjoying, without making 
any return ? i could not live but by char- 



Lo'oe of Labor. 87 

ity, and shall I repay my benefactors with 
ingratitude ? 

Indolence and sloth will only increase 
the burdens of my employment, and ren« 
der them more troublesome and difficult. 
My power will decrease, and my faculties 
be impaired, in proportion as I neglect to 
use them. 

What shame, what remorse, what pun- 
ishment does not the indolent man pre- 
pare for himself at the close of every day, 
at the close of every year, and, above all, 
at the close of a life entirely spent in trif- 
ling occupations, and lost beyond retrieve I 
After having sown so little, after having 
sowm nothing but bad grain, what harvest 
can be expected ! And if I have been the 
parent of a family, what a wretched exam- 
ple have I set to my children and servants, 
by my dislike of labor, or my carelessness 
in going through it. Those who surround 
me are more or less influenced by my con- 



88 Exercises of Piety. 

duct, and will find in my faults a pretext 
to justify their own. 

Can inactivity and idleness be consist- 
ent with love to God and men ? Are they 
consistent with the character of a Chris- 
tian, who takes a lively interest in the hap- 
pmess of others, who loves to labor, to 
suffer and even to sacrifice himself for 
them — of a Christian, who ought not to 
content himself with a conduct merely ex- 
empt from crimes, or a common virtue, 
but who ought to distinguish himself, 
from others, by the brightness of his vir- 
tue, and to shine as a light in the world— ^ 
of a Christian, the disciple of a Master, 
whose meat and drink it vi^as to do the will 
of his Heavenly Father, and whose conduct 
was governed by this maxim ^ '' I must 
work whilst it is called today, for the night 
cometh wherein no man can work." 

I canjiot doubt, therefore, O my God, 
that indolence is diametrically opposite to 
thy will and designs. It degrades, it dis* 



Love of Labor. 89 

graces, it unnerves a man. It is inconsist- 
ent with our own happiness, and that of 
others. It makes us unworthy of the 
name of reasonable creatures, useful citi- 
zens, and true Christians. 

Far then from me be the disgraceful 
thought of indolence — the idea I entertain 
of Thee, O my God ! The recollection of 
my dignity as a man, and a Christian — the 
remembrance of what Lowe to Thee, and 
to my brethren, all unite to engage mc to 
lead an active and industrious life, to em- 
ploy my abilities in a manner the most 
useful to others, and the most honorable 
to myself. Oh my God ! Impress these 
thoughts deeply in my heart; may these 
motives frequently present themselves to 
my mind, and duly influence my conduct 
every day of my life. 



H2" 



THE SAFEST RULE IN THE CONDUCT OF 
LIFE. 



What is the wisest use I can 
make of the present life ? What road 
ought I to pursue, in order most safely to 
attain the end of my existence ? How can 
I most successfully prepare myself for a 
more perfect and happy state after death ? 
How different are the paths in which men 
walk! How opposite and contradictory 
are the maxims they adopt, and the ends 
they propose to themselves ! Nothing is 
more common than to see them wander- 
ing into forbidden paths, and failing of 
the end they have in view ! To avoid fall- 
ing into the same mistakes, I need a sure and 
safe rule which I may follow v^ithout dan- 
ger, and an enlightened guide in whom 
I may entirely confide. But where shall 
I find either the one or the other, unless in 
the heavenly doctrine of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the example which he hath left 



Rule of Life. 91 

US. Yes, He is the way, the truth, and 
the hfe. To him we must continually 
look, after him we must frame our lives j 
to his voice we must be attentive and obe- 
dient, and in his steps v/e must tread. 
Whoever follows him with sincerity and 
perseverance cannot go astray ; but will 
finally attain the highest degree of perfec- 
tion of which he is capable. May it be my 
endeavor to become evfery day more like 
him, conformed to his example, and obe- 
dient to his precepts I 

Grant me, O Merciful God, thine as- 
sistance, and the aids of that spirit which 
Thou didst shed so abundantly on thy well 
beloved Son. Thus supported and pro- 
tected, I shall surmount the greatest diffi- 
culties, and shall find my greatest happi-r 
ness and glory in the practice of virtue, 
and the progress of holiness. 



EXERCISES OF PlixY, 



SUITED TO TKE SEVERAL RELATIONS OF DOMESTIC 
* AND CIVIL LIFE. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARK. 

The duties of social life are an im- 
portant subject, on which the enlightened 
and virtuous Christian v^dll reflect with the 
closest attention^ because that the just dis- 
charge of these mutual obligations, which 
in every age of the world have been held sac- 
red, is absolutely necessary to personal in- 
tegrity, to the peace and order of families, 
thestrength of civil communities, thedigni- 
ty, improvement, and welfare of mankind. 
In reflecting on the various duties of 
social life, it is proper to begin wdth those 
of the married state, because this was ac- 
tually the first relation contracted, the first 
special tie and bond of union established 
in humian life. It is the root of all others, 
and has therefore, if we follow nature, a 
claim to our chief attention and regard. 



FOR A MARRIED PERSON. 

It is Thou, O God, who hast in- 
stituted marriage, that mankind, by this 
means, may fulfil thy designs on earth, 
and contribute to the happines of each 
other. He who without sufficient reasons, 
or with criminal intentions refuses to en- 
ter into this state 5 he who seeks to grat- 
ify his desires out of wedlock, manifestly 
opposes thy will, and neglects to fulfil his 
destination upon earth. He is a rebel- 
lious subject of thy government, an ene- 
my to hiiman life and happiness. This 
institution is assuredly one of those which 
bears the plainest marks of thy wisdom 
and benevolence. What connexion is 
there which more closely unites the hu- 
man race, and more powerfully engages 
them to blend their interests and their 
views, to participate in each others anxie- 
ties and cares ? — V/hat is there that more 
exalts, ennobles, and multiplies their earth- 



54 Exercises of Piety. 

ly existence ? — What is there which fur- 
nishes them with stronger motives to ex- 
ercise and unfold their faculties and tal- 
ents, and to discharge with unwearied zeal 
the duties of their station ? What is there 
which more strongly attaches them to 
civil society, and makes them take a more 
lively and active interest in its happiness ? 
— What is there that promises more sup- 
port and consolation in old age 5 what 
opens more diversified sources of pleasure 
and joy, and raises more delightful hopes, 
with respect to the future, than the sa- 
cred and honorable state of marriage ? 

Yes — this shall always be to me a sa- 
cred relation. I will endeavov faithful- 
ly to discharge all its duties, and cheerful- 
ly submit to any selfdenials it may render 
necessary. Far from being ashamed of 
the nuptial tie, or speaking of it with rail- 
lery, and a blameable levity — far from 
blushing at the sentiments of esteem and 
tenderness Vv^ith which it inspires me for 



Married Persons. 95 

the person with whom I am united, I will 
make it my boast and my pride to cherish 
and love that person as another self, and 
will never lose sight of the intimate rela- 
tions v/hich subsist between us, nor of the 
duties which arise from them. Far from 
choosing the state of marriage only that I 
may enjoy greyer liberty and independ- 
ence, far from being directed in my choice 
by external advantages only, such as afflu- 
ence and rank, as if the qualities of the mind 
and the virtues of the heart, which are the 
most fruitful sources of domestic happiness 
were indifferent to me 3 I will pay the 
principal attention to the moral charac- 
ter, a sound judgment, a tender, virtuous, 
and pious heart, as the most solid founda- 
tion of conjugal felicity, and will prefer 
these advantages to all the lustre of exter* 
nals. 

Instead of sufferins; mvself to be led 
astray by ambition, avarice, the love of 
ease and luxury, so as to lose sight of the 



55 Exercises of Piety. 

chief end of marriage, and to consider 
children, which are its most precious 
fruits^ as a burden, I will, on the contrary, 
believe, that the more creatures there are 
susceptible of happiness, who by my means 
are brought into existence, and whom I 
have led into the road to felicity, the 
better I have answered my design on earth, 
and the riiore thankful shall I be for hav- 
ing lived here belovv^ Far from expect- 
ing to find nothing but what is agreeable 
and delightful in this connexion, I will 
never forget, that its pleasures are indis- 
solubly joined with the tenderest anxieties 
and cares ; and that it is only by a volun- 
tary subjection to the latter, and bear- 
ing them with patience, that I can hope 
to taste the former, without shame and 
remorse, and enjoy them in all their extent. 
The more diversified and intimate the 
ties by which marriage unites me to my 
partner, to my family, and to society, the 
more zealous and active shall I be for 



Married Persons. 9 7 

the personal cind general good of those to 
whom I am related, and the more ambi- 
tious shall I be to discharge the duties of 
my station. There is no kind of labor, 
application, and care, how burdensome or 
easy soever I may find it, how great or 
how trifling soever be its object, which 
ought not to appear important and sacred 
whilst it is capable of contributing to the 
happiness of those with whom I am con- 
nected. My desire and endeavor shall not 
be to make a figure in the great world, 
but to become useful in the small circle 
in Vv'hich I am placed, and to taste the 
pure and tranquil happiness of domestic 
life. If no one ought to think^ act and 
live for himself alone, how much less 
should the person who lives in the conju- 
gal union ? If he be acquainted with his 
obligations, he Vv'ill share the blessings and 
afiiictions of life with the person to Vv^hom 
he is united. He will always open his 
heart to her, and communicate all his sen- 
I 



S3 Exercises of Piety. 

timents* He will endeavor to ease her 
cares, to lessen her troubles, and avoid, as 
far as possible, any occasion of discontent 
and chagrin. Neither of them can be con- 
tented or discontented, happy or unhappy, 
without the other in some degree partakes* 
Mutual confidence will be attended w^ith 
the most beneficial effects. A suspicious 
disposition is the bane of all domestic bliss. 
It is that poisonous leaven which infects 
every comfort of life, and converts the cup 
of happiness into a cup of poison, bitter 
as the wormwood and the gall. Far be 
from nie, then, every illiberal suspicion. 
I have received a wife to be my partner 
till death. She has left her father's shelter, 
and her mother's love, and trusted herself to 
mine. For the confidence she has reposed 
in my faith, shall I shossi her none ? Shall i 
wantorily grieve a bosom, that has no oth- 
er receptacle for its own grief but mine. 
Marriage makes it our duty to endeav- 
V or to correct each other's faults, and to 



Married Persons. 59 

make the road of virtue more smooth and 
easy to each other ; and this is another 
source of comfort which it opens to us. — 
Of what efficacy ought not the examples, 
the advice, the exhortations and prayers, 
to be, between persons so closely united, 
and filled with esteem and love for each 
other ?— -We should act as guides and sup- 
poits to each other ^ to warn one another, 
with the tenderest anxiety, of the dangers 
which threaten j to assist each other in o- 
vercomlng temptations, and to encoi:rage 
each other in a course of piety and vir- 
tue. 

May my partner ^nd myself never for-* 
get, that it was before Thee, O my45oD, 
that we first promised to be constant, kind 
and true 5 that the vows then entered into 
are not to be sported with, nor their obli- 
gation profanely cast away. A persua- 
sion of this is the firmest bulwark of vir- 
tue, and the surest foundation of mutual 
happiness. 



iOO Exercises of Piety. 

May we never neglect to pray for thy 
blessing on our mutual connexion. Unit- 
ed together, in mutual affection , to pour 
cut our common prayer, as the offering 
of one heart before Thee, who art Love 
itself, and the Rewarder of those that love 
Thee, is surely the highest circumstance of 
satisfaction vvhich the wise can fancy, or 
the good can realize. Assisted by one an- 
other's virtue, our good dispositions will 
be confirmed 3 and, w^here life, in other 
circumstances, would be a burden, it will 
not be felt, as divided between us. We 
shall pass through life, blessing and blest ; 
and meet again, in another world, never 
to separate, or to die any more. 



FOR A PARENT. 



O GOD, the Creator of ali men, 
and the source of all happiness , Thou 
makest use of thy creatures as the instru- 
ment by whom thou communicatest thy 
gifts, and even life itself, to other beings 
of the same species y and by this plan thou 
makest them partakers o£ thy supreme fe- 
licity, in the divine and heavenly pleasures 
of making others happy. 

Thou hast permitted me to taste of this 
happiness. Thou hast given me chil- 
dren, and committed them to my direction 
and care. What a valuable present of thy 
bounty ! What an abundant source of 
pleasure and joy for me ! Thou hast im- 
planted in me the tenderest affection to 
my feeble oiTspring, Thou hast made me 
as feelingly alive to their pleasures and 
pains as to my own. Thou hast not left 
my children dependent on the cool dictates 
of reason, but hast urged me to the full 

I 2 



102 Exercises of Piety, 

discharge of my duty by the stimulations 
of an instinct more speedy and forcible in 
its operations than any deliberate argu- 
ments could possibly be. Thou hast en- 
gaged and animated me to do them all the 
good in my power by every feeling of the 
heart. This affection which burns with- 
in me is a spark of that love which thou 
bearest to all thy creatures. But this pa- 
rental affection ought to be, Hke thine, a 
wise and enlightened principle. Its object 
should be, not an external and momenta- 
ry happiness, but a true and perm^anent 
felicity. 

It is not merely to the subsistence of my 
children, to the growth and shape of their 
bodies, that I would devote my chief at- 
tention, but, principally, to the culture of 
their minds and hearts. It is my duty to 
form them to rational men, sincere Christ- 
ians, useful members of society, affection- 
ate husbands and wives, tender parents, 
good masters, faithful friends, and virtu- 



Parents. 103 

ous citizens. It is my duty to teach them 
to love their Creator above all, to love 
their fellowcreatures as their brethren, 
and to rejoice in the persuasion that thou 
art our common Father. I should form 
them not only for time, but for eternity. 
This is one of the most noble and hon- 
orable employments, one of the most im- 
portant and delightful duties which Thou 
hast required of me. I v^ill sacrifice every 
thing the flattering pleasures and the sweet- 
est enjoyments of life, to this important 
task. No age, no state, no other relation 
of life can s€t me free from so sacred an 
obligation. It is myself who must dis- 
charge it 3 and I cannot, either wholly or 
in part, make over this ^ duty to another; 
since it is impossible that an hireling should 
feel the same sentiments which animate the 
breast of a parent, and should be suscepti- 
ble of the same zeal and the same patience. 
If I am obliged to have recourse, in this 
important office, to the assistance and tal- 



104 Exercises of Piety. 

ents of ethers, they can act only under 
my direction^ and as workers together 
with me. . 

This duty is undoubtedly difficult and 
laborious ^ but if, by thine assistance, O 
my God, I acquit myself with success, I 
what a train of pleasures and advantages 
will result from it to myself and society. 

To guide feeble and ignorant creatui*es j 
in the road to happiness ; to teach them 
to make a good use of their powers ^ to 
contribute to the unfoldinsj of the facui- 
ties and dispositions with which they are 
endued y to guard innocent beings from 
error, vice and misery, v^ho are exposed to 
a thousand dangers and temptations ; to 
throw the seeds gf truth, wisdom and vir- 
tue into their young minds, as yet open 
to ev^ery impression ^ to cherish and 
strengthen more and more the good dispo- 
sitions which begin to spring up in them s 
to bring them acquainted with the design 
of their being, both present and future j 



Parents. 105 

to keep them at a distance from the pois- 
onous sources of vice and folly, and to 
open to them those of wisdom, content- 
ment, and joy ; to fit them for acting their 
part on the great theatre of the world, with 
credit to themselves and satisfaction to 
their fellowcreatures. — What a noble and 
sublime employment ! What a recom- 
pense w411 attend it in this world and an- 
other. May I be more penetrated v/ith a 
sense of its dignity and importance, that I 
may acquit myself with a zeal that shall 
ensure its success I 

Yes, to give my children a liberal and 
Christian education shall be my principal 
and my sweetest occupation. Every thing 
animates me to this duty — nature, religion, 
the happiness of my children, my own 
happiness, and that of society. 

Am I not answerable for my conduct 
with respect to them, to the tribunal of 
my own conscience, to society, and to God, 
who is the Father of my children ? Do 



106 Exercises of Piety. 

not their usefulness or unusefulness in the 
world ; the good or evil they shall do ^ 
their happiness or misery, present or fu- 
ture — do they not depend in a great meas- 
ure on the education and cultivation I shall 
have given them ? May I not form the 
most delightful and rejoicing expectations 
with respect to futurity, if I have zealously 
endeavored to give them good instruction ? 
On the contrary, must I not expect the 
most cutting sorrow if I have neglected 
this duty, or have acquitted myself ill in it i 
What wish shall I one day form, Vv^hen 
death shall separate me from them ? What 
will then console me, and enable me to go 
v/ith tranquillity into the state of retribu- 
tion which awaits me in another world ? 
Will it satisfy nie to think that my child- 
ren are sufficiently advanced to do without 
me ; that I leave them a decent patrimony, 
or even considerable riches ; that they are 
allied to opulent families; that I have 
laid the foundation of their advancement ; 



Parents. 107 

that I have smoothed the way to import- 
ant offices, dignities and fortune ? Will 
all this make me easy respecting their fu- 
ture lot, and give me the consoling hope 
of meeting them again in the mansions of 
eternal felicity ? When the splendor and 
pomp of this world shall vanish from my 
sight, what shall 1 then wish with the 
greatest anxiety ? Will it not be that my 
children may be wise and virtuous mtxiy 
and good Christians ; and that they may 
persevere in the path of wisdom and vir- 
tue ? In my last m^oments it will little 
concern me whether they be in other re- 
spects rich or poor, elevated to the pinna- 
cle of greatness, or lost in obscurity.— 
With what tranquillity shall I then be a- 
ble to separate from tliem, and leave them 
under the direction of their Heavenly Fa- 
ther ! And shall 1 not at present aspire,' 
shall I not incessant]) strive to obtain this 
end ? Shall I not do all in my power to 
attain it, and to procure for myself so 



108 Exercises of Piety. 

delightful a satisfaction on the bed of 
death? 

It is true the most careful education 
vnW not always succeed. The most pre- 
cious seed may be choked by bad exam- 
ples, by the seduction of the corrupters of 
youth, or by the dominion of sensual ap- 
petites and irregular passions. All my at- 
tention and care may be useless j but 
such instances are not frequent. Seldom 
does it happen that he who interests him- 
self in the education of his children with 
a truly enlightened, active and indefatiga- 
ble zeal is put to so painful a trial. The 
fruits of his labors may not often discover 
themselves till late if he do not live to 
reap the fruits himself, they may, never- 
theless, one day come to maturity. Be- 
sides, when I have given up all my atten- 
tion to the education of my children, I have 
nothing with vvhich to reproach myself, 
even though it shall have been of no use. 
In this case I am not the author of their 



Parents. 109 

misery s I nave not contributed to it. — 
How great soever it may be, I ought not 
to consider it as a punishment upon me/ 
but as a disaster I could not possibly pre- 
vent. 

Preserve me, O my God, if it may be, 
from this greatest of all distress* Gracious 
God ! Thou seest my beatings trembling 
heart ; hear the prayer of a parent ! Pro- 
tect the feeble creatures Thou hast^com- 
mitted to my care ! Suffer them not to 
become the deplorable victims of debauch- 
ery and vice. Uphold and direct them, 
that they may never go astray and be lost. 
Make their path strait before them. — • 
Support them in the v^^ay of life 5 and let 
innocence, truth, virtue and piety always 
accompany and preserve them. Let them 
be heirs of unfading glory ; let them be 
safe through eternity. O that my chil- 
dren may be heirs of Gob, and joint heirs 
of Jesus Christ ! Should they be soon re- 
moved hence, may it be into Abraham's 
k: 



110 Exercises of Piety. 

bosom ; or should they longer be contia- 
ued here, may they be gathered at last, as 
a shock of corn, into the celestiai garner. 
Give thy blessing upon all I have under- 
taken with this view, and on whatever I 
shall hereafter undertake. If mv feeble 
efforts are ill directed/they are at least sin- 
cere. Supply my deficiencies, and grant 
me Oh my Gop ! more light and knowl- 
edge, that I may choose the best means, 
and not be discouraged in the discharge 
of my important duty. Happy, inex- 
pressibly happy, shall I be, if at the hour 
of death, and in the day of judgment, I 
may be reunited to my children, never 
more to be separated 5 and be able to say, 
in the transports of joy, '^Behold me, 
Lord, and the children thou hast given me. 
They hav€ like me, happily finished their 
course ^ they have kept the faith, and per- 
severed in their obedience 5 and now they 
humbly v/ait, with me, for the recompense 



Parents. Ill 

which Thou hast promised to those who 
have been faithful unto death/' 

With a view to all these blessings would 
I bring them, in the arms of faith and 
love, to the divine footstool, and resign 
them to the disposal of Infinite Goodness 
and Mercy. To that kind and gracious 
God Vv^ho gave them would I humbly com- 
mit them, to be guarded by thy Provi- 
dence, ministered to by thine angels, in- 
fluenced by thy Spirit, conducted safely 
through the dangers and evils of this 
world, and preserved to thy everlasting 
kingdom in the other. 



FOR A CHILD, 



In what a state of weakness and de- 
pendence, O my God J are the children of 
men born ! When they come into the 
world they are much more feeble, much 
more dependent, much more exposed to 
dangers than the most senseless animals. 
It is but slowly, and very late that they ac- 
quire sufficient strength to stand alone, 
without the assistance of their parents. 

But this arrangement is the effect of thy 
paternal bounty. Thou intendest we 
should be raised above the brute creation, 
and become intelligent and moral beings. 
But such v/e cannot become but by a con- 
stant intercourse, and the daily instructions 
of persons better informed than ourselves. 
And it is in order that v/e may enjoy this 
society and instruction, that Thou hast so 
closely united us to beings of the same na- 
ture with ourselves, and placed us in such 
a state of dependence on one another. 



Children. 113 

I revere thy will^ O my God j and I 
return Thee thanks for the ties which u- 
nite me to my parents, and all the advan- 
tages I derive from it* 

Yes, I perceive how feeble and depend- 
ent I am, and desire to think and act ac- 
cordingly. Happy shall I think myself, if 
filled with love and gratitude to my par- 
ents, I fulfil ray obligations to them with 
a tractable and joyful heart. 

How great are my obligations to them ! 
What should I do without them ? Sur- 
rounded from my birth with ten thous- 
and dangers, I should probably not have 
escaped any one of them, if the supporting 
and watchful liand of a father^ or a moth- 
er, or of persons who supplied their place, 
had not protected and snatched me from 
the dangers which threatened m.e. Expos- 
ed to a thousand wants, without the pow- 
er of supplying them 5 a prey to hunger 
and thirst, to cold and heat, to sorrow and 
disease, I should have fallen a victim to all 

K 2 



114 Exercises of Piety. 

these evils had it not been for the assiduous 
attention of those who were around me, 
and their care to supply my want of 
knowledge and of strength. For how 
long a time hath this state of weakness and 
dependence (in which I still in a great de- 
gree find myself) continued ? A stranger 
to every thing, the least thing fills me with 
fear and trouble. My mind, as feeble as 
my body, falters at every step, falls into a 
thousand errors, and, dazzled by a false 
lustre, suffers itself to be easily led astray 
by vain appearances. I have not yet ac- 
quired sufficient experience to confide en- 
tirely in myself. Today I judge totally 
different of men and things from what I 
did yesterday. Knowing but little of the 
design of my being, and the means of at- 
tainins; it, I cannot vet tread with a firm 
and steady foot in the path of life. How 
much do I need an enlightened and faith- 
ful guide ? Without such a director I run 
the risque of straying into a thousand ob- 



Children. 115 

scare bypaths, the victim of every im- 
postor v^^ho wishes to abuse my credulity, 
and the sport of every accident. 

But who amongst mankind will guide 
me with more kindness, prudence, and cir- 
cumspection than a father or a mother ? 
My parents are the first and surest guides 
I can have in the journey of life, which is 
to me at present an unknown road. They 
will give me the benefit of their experience, 
light and strength. They will warn me 
of the dangers I run, and remove the obsta- 
cles that lie in my way. They will teach 
me to distinguish reality from appearance, 
and to form a right judgment of mankind 
and the objects around me. They will 
raise me when I fall, and encourage my 
trembling steps. They will lead me in- 
sensibly to wisdom and virtue, to the 
knowledge of God and religion, which they 
will teach me to study and to follovi^, as 
the noblest and most friendly guides to 



116 Exercises of Piety. 

man, the most faithful and the surest con- 
ductors to happiness. 

How great then are my obligations to 
my parents ! How can I ever acquit my- 
self to them, and sufficiently acknowledge 
my gratitude ! How much have my main- 
tenance, my early education, and the im- 
provement of my mind already cost them 5 
and how much anxiety, pain and labor 
have I not occasioned them ! How many 
conveniencies and pleasures, and accommo- 
dations have they not given up on my ac- 
count! How many tears have I made 
them shed for me ! How much disap- 
pointment and distress have they experi- 
enced for me ! How much more have they 
watched, labored, and lived for me, than 
for themselves \ 

And have I never made a perverse re- 
turn for their love ? Have I never repaid 
their kindness with ingratitude ? Yet they 
have never ^ ceased to give me new proofs 



Childreiu 117 

of their tenderness, and nev^er ceased to 
labor for my happiness. 

Alas ! It is now I see my faults. The 
idea of having occasioned them anxiety and 
mortification, and of having grieved their 
hearts, afflicts and tears my own. I am a- 
shamed that by obstinacy and disobedience 
I have hindered their good intentions in 
my behalf, and failed in my duty to them. 

I win try in future to repair these faults, 
and to give them only satisfaction. To 
this my best endeavors shall be directed. 
Filial piety shall direct and animate all my 
conduct. I will say and do nothing that 
shall displease them. I will make it my 
greatest pleasure to obey them, to afford 
them every service and assistance in my 
power, and to become their consolation 
and their joy. I will give myself up sin- 
cerely to their direction, instantly obey 
their commands, and, if possible, even an- 
ticipate their wishes. The end to which 
I will direct all my efforts shall be to make 



118 Exercises of Piety. 

a good use of all the means of instructiorr 
they procure me, that I may become more 
intelligent and wise, and hereby make the 
best return in my power for all their kind=^ 
ness. Thus will I endeavor to lighten 
their burdens, relieve their cares, and re- 
joice their hearts with the pleasing hope 
that their labor has not been in vain. 

Preserve me, Oh Merciful God, from 
the levity and inconstancy of my age. Let 
the idea of thy presence, and of thy will; 
confirm me in every good resolution I 
have formed, and do thou assist me to ex- 
ecute them with perseverance and fidelity I 



TO YOUTH. 



How pleasant is the season of 
youth ! Like the fine days in the springs 
it composes the prime of life, and promis- 
es in future a rich harvest. But, alas ! 
It passes away with the same rapidity, and 
the hopes it raises are often as deceitful. 
In the moral, as in the natural world, the 
finest blossoms do not always produce the 
fruit we had reason to expect : 

*' Fair is the bud his vernal morn brings forth. 
And fostering gales awhile the nursling fan. 
O smile, ye Heavens, serene ! Ye mildews wan, 
Ye blighting whirlwinds, spare its balmy prince. '^ 

In vain are our wishes ! Too often, blast- 
ed by the hoar frost, or torn up by the 
tempest, the fairest buds of hope, and the 
most promising plants perish, with the 
precious seed which they enclose. 

How must it afflict the person, arrived 
at the maturity of manhood, when he casts 
his eyes over the days of youth, if they 



120 Exercises of Piety. 

have flown away without improvement- 
if he has foolishly consumed them in tri- 
fling occupations, or lost them in idleness. 
What more distressing object can be held 
up to the view of society than that of a 
man v/hose faculties, instead of being un- 
folded and enlarged by exercise, are be- 
numbed by inactivity, or debilitated or 
worn out in the service of vice 3 carrying 
with him, into the maturer season, noth- 
ing but the disgraceful feelings of weak- 
ness, regret and remorse ? 

On the other hand, What pleasure must 
not a person experience in recalling to his 
mind the spring of life, who has employ- 
ed it in forming his mind and his heart, 
in preparing himself for useful occupa- 
tions ; and who, having cultivated the 
precious seed which the Creator has sown 
Vv^ithin us, can hope to reap for him^self 
and others the most excellent fruits ? Flow 
delightful is the sight of such a man to 
every sensible and virtuous person I 



Touth. 121 

Happy will it be for me if I may one 
day taste this satisfaction, and procure it 
for my parents and fellow citizens. Hap- 
py for me if 1 entertain at present the same 
opinion of the important design of youth 
as 1 shall certainly have in maturer years^ 
and in old age, in the hours of retirement 
and recollection, and at the approach of 
death. But ah ! How different is the 
point of view in which manhood and old 
age see the days of their youth, from that 
in which they are beheld by the young 
man himself ! And how much more likely 
to be just is their opinion which is formed 
on their own experience and that of oth- 
ers 1 Where is the man who ever repent- 
ed of having well employed his youth r— 
Does not this period of life, when passed 
in piety and innocence, procure us the 
most valuable advantages, and the miost 
noble pleasures ? On the other hand, how 
many deplore the loss or abuse of thes0 
most favorable days of their lives, and bit- 

L 



122 Exercises of Piety* 

terly lament over the unhappy consequen-- 
ces of youthful errors ? How many are 
there who. in the flower of their lives, are 
a prey to the infirmities of a premature 
old age, become incapable of tasting the 
pleasures and comforts of domestic life, or 
to whom these pleasures are embittered 
and poisoned by remorse of conscience ? 

And shall not these lessons and experi- 
ences, so proper to instruct and encourage 
me, make me more wise and prudent ? — 
Shall they not engage me wisely to employ 
the days of youth s to fly the steps of 
those unfortunate persons whose very ap- 
pearance terrifies me ; to proceed with a 
firm and persevering step in the path where 
so many of my predecessors have reaped 
the advantages they now enjoy, and by 
which they have become valuable men, 
useful citizens, and wise and happy beings 

The present is the season for sowing. — 
If, at a more advanced period, I would 
not be reduced to the want of necessaries; 



Youtlu 12S 

if I would not be a burden to myself and 
others 5 if I would gather a rich and a- 
bundant harvest, I must sow the good seed, 
and carefully cultivate the ground which 
receives it. I raust ?^Aor<\ my mind with 
wisdom, and my heart with virtue ; I 
must lay in a ^tore of useful knowledge, 
and early acquire the habit of acting just- 
ly. I must combat my evil thoughts be- 
fore they gain the mastery ; I must extir- 
pate my evil habits before they have taken 
deep root 3 I must endeavor to secure the 
love and esteem of my fellow citizens, by 
a rational, modest, attentive, regular con- 
duct, that I may be able to depend in fu- 
ture on their protection and support. — 
Youth is the time for discipline and prep- 
aration ; in this season I should acquaint 
myself with, and properly value, and ex- 
ercise my faculties and powers, if I would 
one day employ them with facility and 
success 5 I should acquire the information 
and the talents for which I shall have oa- 



124 Exercises of Play. 

casion in future life, and without which 
I shall stumble at every step, and find my- 
self involved in a thousand perplexing dif- 
ficulties. I must accustom myself to self 
denials ; to bear contradiction and oppo- 
sition ; to endure fatigue, trouble, and 
affliction^ to subdue my passions ; to 
conquer my sensual appetites ; if I would 
not one day sink under the weight of ev- 
ery duty and every triaL 

How important then is the present sea- 
son of life ! Mere wishes, slothful and fee- 
ble efforts, will not suffice to fulfil its du- 
ties and design. It is only by persevering 
endeavors, by a constant application, and 
by an unshaken firmness, that I can attain 
the end which I propose. But need I be 
discouraged and alarmed at the necessity 
of diligence, application and resistance ? 
Will not the wages be proportioned t« 
the labor, and the triumph to the combat ? 

Shall I postpone to an uncertain hereaf- 
ter that whicli I can and ought to do at 



Touth. 125 

present ? Is not the time I lose really lost 
forever ? Has not every future period of 
my existence its particular employment ? 
Will it be the time for sowing when the 
season of gathering shall come, or for in- 
'ftruction when I shall be called to make 
use of my knowledge ? What it is incum- 
bent on me to do at this season, and which 
I neglect because of its difficulties, will 
become every year and every day more dif- 
ficult. Notwithstanding the health and 
strength I enjoy in the spring of life, may 
I not lose my powers, and die in the flow- 
er of my days ? And what doom may I 
expect in the future state, if I have fool- 
ishly wasted the prime of life in the slave«- 
ryof irregular passions and the corruptions 
of vice r Let me watch continue::!/ over 
myself, over all the secret motions of my 
heart ^ let me not suffer myself to be se- 
duced by the vain promises of vice, by the 
charms of an apparent liberty, or a treach- 
erous joy. Wisdom raises her voice to 



1S5 Exercises of Piety. 

tell mo that the intoxication of sense en- 
dures but for an instant ^ that the enchant- 
ed cup of luxury shall not be always sweet 
to my taste ; that the pleasure I find in 
drinking it shall soon vanish, as a fleeting 
dream from which we are fearfully awak- 
ened 3 that the liberty v/ith which I am 
flattered by vice is nothing but the vilest 
slavery, and that all its joys are poisoned 
at their source. Whereas, no innocent 
pleasures which I forego, from a principle 
of virtue, shall be lost to me ; sooner or 
later it shall be returned to me with inter- 
est. A train of pure and lasting joys shalt 
recompense me, in manhood and old age, 
for the destructive or vain gratifications 
which I have prudently renounced. And 
even when prevented, by an early death, 
from gathering, in this world, the fruits 
of a well regulated youth, shall I not 
reap a prodigious advantage if I am pre- 
pared to enter a more perfect abode, and 
sufficiently qualified, for the sublime em- 



Youth. in 

ployment and delicious pleasures which a- 
wait the virtuous in a future existence > 
Yes, O my God, it is only by keeping; 
thy commandments — by making wisdom 
and virtue, reason and religion his faith- 
ful guides, that a young man can preserve 
his innocence, look with calmness on the 
beginning of his course, and advance near- 
er and nearer to his supreme destination. 
O may these faithful guides always ac- 
company me in the journey of life ! Oh 
Almighty and most merciful God, do thou 
thyself conduct me^ by thy spirit, in the 
straight road. Preserve me, by thy grace, 
from the wanderings of youth, and the ty- 
ranny of passions. Let thy wise and good 
Providence remove far from my path the 
obstacles and temptations which may oc- 
casian my fall. Assist my endeavors to 
become wise, and virtuous, and holy ; and 
accompany them with thy blessing. Place 
me in circumstances favorable to my im- 
provement. Give me faithful friends and 



12S Exercises of Piety. 

guideSj and enable me to follow them in 
the paths of goodness. 

Thou delightest, Oh God, to grant the 
desires which flow from a sincere heart, 
and to second the efforts of those who se- 
riously aspire after greater perfection. — 
Supported and guided by Thee, I cannot 
fail of attaining in this world the design 
of my existence, and of arriving in th@ 
other at my supreme tnd.. 



A PERSON ARRIVED AT MANHOOD. 



It is through thy goadness, Oh my 
God, that I am brought thus far on in. 
the journey of life — assist me to pursue it 
according to thy will, and happily to finish 
it. I am now arrived at the middle of 
my course. Exposed, at the meridian of 
life, to the rays of the burning sun, I no 
longer enjoy the freshness of the morning. 
The serene days of infancy and youth are 
fled away with all their playfulness and 
thoughtless gaiety. More serious thoughts 
and more important occupations, accom- 
panied with solicitudes and fears, but al- 
so intermixed with nobler and more de- 
lightful pleasures, have succeeded them.— 
I am now advanced to the height of man- 
hood. My body and my mind have at- 
tained all the strength of which they are 
capable. I am now able to bear heavy 
burdens, to execute toilsome labors, to un- 
dertake things difficult and complicated^ 



132 Exercises of Piety. 

fare can only take place when each of 
those who compose it worthily fills his sta- 
tion, and faithfully discharges his own 
peculiar duties. This shall be the object 
of my ardent and persevering endeavors. 
I would perform the duties of my function 
with a cheerful heart, and disinterested 
views, uninfluenced by ambition, vanity^ 
avarice, or the desire of power 5 but from 
obedience to the will of God, from a prin- 
ciple of conscience, from motives of hu- 
manity, and the noble desire of attaining 
the design of my present existence, and of 
preparing for my future destiny. These 
are the motives which shall animate me 
in the discharge of my duty, and make 
that duty itself the source of pleasure and 
of joy. 

The course i have yet to run appears 
long to me. 1 form, perhaps, great and 
extensive schemes. I employ myself in 
executing them with as much zeal and 
ccniidence as if I were sure of success. 



"^ Manhood. 153 

labor for my country, for posterity, for a 
distant futurity. I plant, I build, I form 
enterprises, I enter into new connexions, 
I pursue various plans, I endeavor to en- 
large the sphere of my activity, as if I had 
many ages yet to live. To act thus, is 
the will of thy providence, O God, which 
has so closely connected one generation 
with another, and which prepares, in the 
present time, the most distant events. It 
is for Thee, O Thou Sovereign of the 
world, to determine (according to the 
purposes of thy infinite wisdom) whether 
I shall leave the execution of them to an- 
other. Thou wantest neither means nor 
resources to attain the ends Thoupropos- 
est to thyself. As for me, may it suffice 
to acquit myself well in my station, and 
to labor, with unceasing application^ for 
the public good, without disquieting my- 
self whether my life shall be long or shorty 
whether the success of my entei'prises shall 

M 



134 Exercises of FJety. 

deceive my expectations, or crown my 
wishes. 

But whilst my strength, ability, and 
success, answer all my expectations, let' 
me never forget the frailty of my nature, 
the instability of worldly good, the uncer- 
tainty of all my schemes, the mortality of 
my body, and the immortal state into 
which I must pass. — Far from concentrat- 
ing all my affections in the pleasures of 
this life, I would never lose sight of my su- 
preme end. I will therefore v/isely prefer 
things invisible and eternal to those which 
are seen, and temporal ; and alvvays hold 
myself in readiness to quit my post at the 
call of providence and to go into .another 
world, where, through divine grace I may 
attain all the improvement of vv^hich I am 
susceptible, and to prepare for which I was 
sent into the world. 



TO OLD AGE. 



O MY God, thou hast given me 
life, and continued it to me through a long 
series of years. After having carried me 
through the successive stages of existence, 
after conducting and protectmg me in in- 
fancy, in youth, and manhood, thou hast 
brought me to the last period of life. — 
How great, how innumerable are the bles- 
sings and favors thou hast heaped upon 
me ! O Thou Supreme Good ! With what 
paternal tenderness hast Thou provided 
for my bodily and spiritual Vv^ants, from 
my birth to the present hour ! How many 
sources of pleasure and delight hast Thou 
opened to me in civil and domestic life 1 
How many lessons of wisdom and virtue 
hast Thou given me ! Hov/ many dangers 
hast Thou averted from me; from how 
many evils hast Thou preserved me ! How- 
many faults and sins hast Thou overlook- 



136 Exercises of Piety. 

ed ! How many undertakings and labors 
have I executed with success, through 
thine assistance ! — Thy mercies have been 
renewed to me every morning ^ every day, 
every hour of my life, have I witnessed 
thy goodness. Accept, O merciful and 
indulgent Father, my most sincere and 
hearty thanks, for all the blessings thou 
hast heaped upon me, for all the support 
thou hast granted me, for all the divine 
joys thou hast poured into my heart, and 
for all the afflictions with which thou hast 
disciplined and benefited me. But how 
can I sufficiently acknowledge and cele- 
brate thy merciful kindness, and my ovv^n 
unmerited felicity ! Blessed be God, a day 
is approaching, when I hope distinctly to 
recollect all thy favors, and to be more 
sensible of their value. Then will the re- 
membrance of m^y sufferings^ as well as 
my pleasures, afford me joy. I shall ac- 
"knowledge it was thy paternal hand which 
has guided me in the gloomy and the rug- 



Old Age. 1S7 

ged, as well as in the bright and smooth 
paths of life, in order to conduct me in the 
surest way to felicity. Every day of my 
life has been marked by some precious 
effects of thy love. Through thy grace, I 
have been upheld under the troubles oi 
life, discharged its duties, and tasted its 
pleasures. I can now quit my post with- 
out regret, and without fear. I have fin« 
ished the work thou hast given me to do, 
I have promoted, according to my ability, 
the happiness of thy great family. Now 
I am going to rest from my toils, and to 
enjoy the fruit of my labors. Arrived at 
the end of my journey, what pleasure do 
I now enjoy in recalling to my mind every 
good action which Thou hast enabled me 
to perform. Happy, indeed, would it be 
for me, if there had been no actions, the 
recollection of which should cover me with 
confusion. But alas ! In reviewing the 
course I have run, I perceive a multitude 
of faults and transgressions which fill me 

M 2 



138 Exercises of Piety. 

with shame and regret. If I can yet cor- 
rect my errors^ and in any measure repair 
the injury I have done myself or my fel- 
low creatures, I will do it Vv^ithout delay, 
and With the greatest alacrity, whatever 
shame it may occasion me, in order to re- 
store peace to my mind before I quit this 
state of trial, and appear before my Judge. 
If I have neglected any duties, which I can I 
yet discharge in ray public or domestic re- 
lations, I will immediately fulfil them, lest 
death surprise me before I have complet- 
ed my task. My sins and transgressions 
would overwhelm me with sorrovv^, did I 
not, O my God, consider thy mercy. — 
Thou wilt pardon my faults, for Thou 
art an indulgent Father to those who re- 
pent and araend. The death and resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ are the security and 
proofs of it. How full of consolation is 
this assurance ! What light does itdiifuse 
around me ! What hope and trust does it 
inspire. I will constantly look unto Je- 



Old Age.. 159 

sus, the author and finisher of my faith, 
my forerunner and my guide. I will en- 
deavor to imitate his example, and tread 
in his steps. If I can be no longer useful 
to society by my labors, I will try to be so 
by my example. My children, my ser- 
vants, my descendants, shall learn from 
me to triumph over the fears of death, and 
to die as becometh Christians. hx)L old 
man, who preserves to the decline of life 
an amiable serenity, and easy cheerfulness, 
who recalls to his mind the scenes of past 
life, without remorse, and who contem- 
plates/the future without fear, such an 
old man may still be useful to society. — 
How much good may he do, how much 
evil may he prevent, by his advice, by his 
example, and even by his presence ! The 
young, and those arrived at maturity, as- 
semble around him to receive his instruc- 
tions, to learn to live as he lived, and to 
approach the close of life with the same 
tranquillity of soul with which he meets 



140 Exercises of Piety. 

his dissolution. What deep and lasting 
impressions may not the precepts, the ex- 
perience, the exhortations, which are the 
fruit of a long life, make upon the minds 
of others. Oh that the torch of my Ufe 
may burn with a cheering and salutary 
splendor, before it is extinguished, and 
leave permanent and clear traces in the 
hearts of those who are younger than my- 
self. To this end, I will endeavor to be free 
from the weaknesses and defects to which 
old age is usually subject. Far from n:e 
be all caprice, insensibility, austerity, mo- 
roseness, ail peevishness, and impatience. 
May my principal, my last employment 
on earth, be to ease and lessen the care 
which my friends and others take of me, 
to testify to them my acknowledgments, to 
lead them, by my conduct, to respect, and 
love the religion of Jesus, and prepare for 
its highest rev^ards. About to separate 
from them, I commit them, with myself, 
into thy hands, O Heavenly Father, with 



Old Aze. ^ 141 



"'cb 



an entire confidence. Be a father to my 
children, and a friend to my friends.— 
Take them under thy protection. Lead 
them in the paths of piety and virtue. — 
Preserve them from foolish and hurtful 
lusts. Teach them to make a proper use 
of the pi^esent life, and to prepare for a 
future. Then, whatever be their lot, 
whether prosperous or adverse ; whether 
they reach to my advanced age, or are cut 
off by death, in the midst of their days, 
they will not be less happy, and will be 
finally united to me, never to separate or 
to die any more. 

Thus would I finish my course. Thus 
would I spend the close of my life, reliev- 
ing, benefitting, and blessing all around 
me. Then shall I behold my end with 
calmness and tranquillity. Death will 
conduct me to a better world, and will 
therefore be a messenger of joy. With 
a serene mind I shall go to a more perfect 
state, where 1 hope to know truth with 



142 Exercises of Piety. 

greater certainty, to think more justly, to 
worship more devoutly, to love more af- 
fectionately, to,, act with greater freedom, 
and to enjoy pleasure without mixture or 
alloy. Yes, Oh my God, thou vi^ilt quick- 
ly call me to thyself, and I will readily o- 
bey thy voice, for thou callest me to glory, 
honor and immortality. Thy perfections 
are my security j and thy son Jesus Christy 
whose words shall never pass away, gives 
me the most positive assurance of it* 

V/ith a heart deeply impressed with 
these sentiments, I will say as he did : 
*^ Father, into thy hands I commit my 
spirit/' 



DUTY TO RULERS AND SUPERIORS. 

IF mankind are placed in a state of 
mutual dependence 5 if they have different 
posts assigned them in society ; if some, 
invested with authority and power^ pre- 
side and govern, whilst others are controll- 
ed and obey 3 if every one is obliged, for 
the public good, to confine himself with- 
in certain limits, to submit to certain bur- 
dens, this arises from the diversity of our 
understandings, abilities, and talents, and 
the unavoidable effect of social life, and 
is necessary to the general good, and ad- 
vantageous to the human race. Without 
this variety of conditions, how could the 
union, order, security, peace, and wellbe- 
ing of society be maintained ? How could 
the members of society make their facul- 
ties and talents useful to the public ? How 
could they expand and exercise their pow- 
ers, practice all the virtues of which they 
are capable, provici for their commoa 



144- Exercises of Piety. 

wants, and execute useful undertakings ? 
And how feeble, and destitute of succor 
should we be, without social connexion ? 
Do not these connexions and relations 
necessarily suppose a mutual dependence 
and subordination ? 

I here perceive, O God, thy wise dis- 
posal and arrangement. I revere and sub- 
mit to them, fully convinced they are e- 
quitable and good 3 that they tend to pro- 
mote the general welfare of thy earthly 
family, and, of consequence, my own pri- 
vate happiness. 

As those to whom thou hast entrusted 
the administration of justice, the main 
tenance of laws, and the government ofl 
nations, are men of like passions with my 
self, and, on that account, frail and lim- 
ited beings, a prey to error, and prone to 
failings ^ liable to be deceived, and inca- 
pable of seeing, knowing, and executing 
every thing y beings who, with the best 
intentions, cannot do all the good they 



Duty to Rulers. 145 

may wish, nor surmount all the obstacles 
they may encounter ; I ought not to ex- 
pect to find in them a wisdom and a vir- 
tue beyond what human nature is capable 
of. I must not be surprised if they some- 
times commit mistakes ; if their measures 
are not always so wise, nor so infallible, 
nor their administration so free fi^om re- 
proach as it might be. Can I say, that 
were I placed in the same circum^stances I 
should not be guilty of many greater 
faults, be more deficient in the duties of 
justice, equity and humanity, and more 
frequently prefer my own interest and 
pleasure to the general good. 

All the arrangements and contrivances 
of mortals bear, and always will' bear, the 
marks of human imperfection. If the 
advantages and good they produce more 
than counterbalance the inconveniences 
and evils to which they expose us, I v/ill 
thankfully enjoy the former, aud endeav- 
or to lessen the latter, by bearing them 

N 



146 Exercises of Piety. 

with patience. I will not forget that the 
obedience I owe to the magistrate is a du- 
ty v/hich God himself hath commanded, 
the observance of which tends to the hap- 
piness of society, and consequently to mine, 
who make a part of it. 

I will, therefore, respect my superiors, 
and lawful rulers 3 and, whilst their laws 
are not contrary to the laws of God, wht> 
is my supreme Lawgiver, I will faithfully 
observe them, not from a motive of fear, 
but as the gospel teaches me, from a prin 
ciple of conscience, and a regard to the 
general welfare. My obedience shall not 
be that of a slave, but of a rational, free 
and intelligent being, who acts from the 
unconstrained impulse of the mind, 
will give to those who are exalted above 
me in authority and rank, the honors and 
respect to which they are entitled. If in 
the station I fill, I can in any measure 
contribute to the general good of society 
I will do it with alacrity and pleasure j — 



Bitty to Riders. 147 

and, even when under no legal obligation, 
will endeavor to give effect, according to 
my abilities, to the useful and salutary in- 
tentions of government. 

Far be it fro^n me to envy the great and 
powerful. The places they occupy are as 
dangerous as they are exalted and brilliant. 
The path they tread may seem strewed 
with fiowers, but these flowers most fre- 
quently conceal a multitude of briars and 
thornsj from which my path is exempted* 
They have also their burdens to bear, bur- 
dens Vv^hich are often more oppressive than 
mine. 

Besides, whether my condition here be 
high or low, bright or obscure, it v/ill 
not affect my eternal state. Pvly future 
happiness will depend on the exactness 
and fidelity with which I shall have execut- 
ed the task which Thou, O my God, hast 
given me. Whatever may be the station 
Thou hast been pleased to assign me, if I 
strictly endeavor to discharge its duties, it 



148 Exercises of Piety. 

will prepare the way to perfection and fe-- 
licity. Grant me, O God, to this end 
thine assistance. Father of Mercies, teach 
me to do thy v\^ill, and to dischai'ge my 
duty, with all the attent^-on and zeal of 
which I am capable. Then shall I always 
enjoy thy approbation, and in whatever 
state I am shall learn therewith to be con- 
tent. 



THE RICH MAN, 



The affluence in which Thou, O 
my God, perniittest me to live, undoubt- 
edly procures me great advantages, and a 
variety of comforts and delights. It pre- 
serves me from many occasions of painful 
anx'rety ; it opens to me many sources of 
pleasure and joy, w^hich without its aid, 
would have been shut against me. It ex- 
cites me to a more generous activity for 
the public good. It furnishes me with a 
thousand means of augmenting my own 
happiness, and that of m.y brethren. Be- 
neficent God ! It is to thy sovereign good- 
ness I am indebted for all these important 
advantages, and I return Thee my most 
grateful acknowledgments. O teach me 
to regard and employ my riches suitably 
to thy will and my own true felicity ! May 
I never consider them as proofs of partic- 
ular merit in myself, and of thy predilec- 
tion towards me. How many of ray 

N 2 



150 Exercises of Piety. 

brethren, plunged in the depths of poverty, 
are more wise, virtuous, and deserving of 
thy favors than I am ! May I never, in 
future, estimate the value of riches by the 
share I have of them, but by the wise, no- 
ble and serviceable use I make of them. 

If my condition hath its pleasures and 
advantages, it hath also its inconveniences 
and dangers. How many snares surround 
the rich man I With how many pretences 
do riches furnish him for insolence, vani- 
ty, pride, effeminacy, luxury and volup- 
tuousness ! V/hat risques does he run of 
violating the most sacred laws, of forget* 
ting God, of indulging his sensual appe- 
tites, of despising the poor, of oppressing 
the Vv^eak, of hardening his heart, of be- 
coming insensible to the miseries of oth- 
ers ? How manv snares are laid for his in- 
nocence and virtue ? Assist me, O my 
God, in the midst of these difficulties ! — 
Enable me to escape these dangers, and 
surmount all these obstacles to piety and 



The Rich Man. 151 

virtue. Ah, if my riches would remove 
me to a greater distance from Thee, and 
lead me astray into the paths of vice and 
folly, rather take them from me. I would 
infinitely rather be poor snd virtuous, than 
live foolishly and wickedly in the bosom of 
plenty. 

Yes — 'if my riches are prejudicial to my 
spiritual enjoyment, to my truest happiness 
and the lasting felicity of my soul, then, 
O my God, give me fortitude to free my- 
self from an uneasy burden, by consecrat- 
ing, whilst still living, a considerable part 
of it to support useful institutions ; to as- 
sist the poor, and those of my friends who 
are in need ; that the happy mediocrity to 
which I shall reduce myself by these gen- 
erous sacrifices, may lessen the diiiiculties 
and obstacles which retard or mislead me 
in my course. 

At least I am persuaded, and will al- 
ways recollect, that I have difficult duties 
to discharge, that it becomes me to take 



152 Exercises of Piety. 

peculiar care to be on my guard against 
the false splendor of external good ; to re- 
double my attention and vigilance over 
myself^ and never lose sight of those ties 
which unite me to God and man '-, that 
by avoiding the snares which fortune 
spreads for me, I may walk v/ith a firm 
and sure step on so slippery a road. 

I will, then, inviolably observe the laws 
which reason and religion dictate. If, in 
the property I possess, there be any part 
v/hich I have acquired unjustly, I would 
instantly restore it to its proper owner 5 
or, if none such can be found, I would 
distribute it among the poor. How can 
I enjoy v/ith satisfaction, and apply v;ith- 
out shame and remorse to m.y own use, 
what is not mine but belongs to another. 

Never will I make a parade of my rich- 
es before the eyes of others in such a man- 
ner as to humble or afflict them. Never 
will I boast of them as an advantage v/hich 
advances me above them. Never will I 



Ulie Rich Man* 153 

despise the poor because they are poor.^ — - 
Nev^er will I treat them with insolence and 
cruelty, or forget that they are in many 
respects my equals and my brethren. 

My acts of .charity shall never be per- 
formed through vanity or ostentation.— 
Far be it from me to reproach the poor 
man I relieve. He shall not be obliged 
to purchase my kind ofFices by humilia- 
tions and meannesses. I v/ould never, in 
an ofiensive manner, remind him of the 
assistance he has received from me. A 
look that speaks pity and affection doub- 
les the gift, and makes the heart of mis- 
ery rejoice. My hand and my counte- 
nance, therefore, shall give together. — 
Thus, when I am asked for bread, I shall 
not give a stone along with it 5 and when 
I hear a fellow diristian crying out with 
his Divine Master w^hen expiring on the 
cross, ''Lo, I thirst!'' I shall not have 
the barbarity to mock his distress, and 
double his complaints, by giving him via- 



154 Exercises of Flety. 

egarto drink mingled with gall. To do 
good in secret, without a witness, without 
hope of a return 3 to do it to those who 
are ungrateful, and even to those who are 
my enemies, v\^hat a divine pleasure ! It 
is to imitate thy bounty. Thou most be- 
nevolent of beings, and to be merciful as 
Thou, my Father in Heaven, art merci- 
ful. 

Riches shall not be the rule by which I 
will estimate the merit of mankind, and 
determine the share they shall enjoy of 
my esteem. I know full well a person 
may be rich without any personal merit, 
and that poverty does not exclude the 
most valuable qualities. Did not my 
blessed Lord pass his life in the bosom of 
poverty and indigence ? Let not me, then, 
his professed disciple, place my affections 
on the goods of fortune, or consider them 
as essential to my happiness. What is 
there more fleeting and uncertain, and 
consequently less solid and lasting, than 



The Rich Man. 155 

the contentment and happiness they im- 
part ? How seldom do we see a rich man, 
truly contented and happy ; and how ma- 
ny persons enjoy real ease and comfort, 
v/ithout the assistance of wealth ? 

I will never consider the use I make of 
riches as a matter of indifference. It is 
my duty to employ them in a manner the 
most wise and beneficial to society 3 and 
it is much more difficult to discharge this 
duty than is generally imagined. I will 
not leave a matter of this consequence to 
chance 3 and though in many cases I should 
pay regard to the circumstances of the 
moment, these circumstances shall not be 
my only rule. I will often reflect on the 
good I can do ; I Vv^ill advise with my m.ost 
virtuous and judicious friends, and give 
the subject my closest attention and care. 
The poor, the sick, and the unhappy, have 
undoubtedly the first and most incontesti- 
ble claim to my assistance. But I ought 
also to take in hand the cause of inno- 



156 Exercises of Piety. 

cence, the interests of liberty, truth, vir- 
tue, humanity, and public happiness. — 
These interests I ought to support and de- 
fend with so much the more courage and 
zeal, because I can do it with less risque 
and m.ore success than others. This is 
my greatest honor, m.y most sacred duty, 
and my highest felicity. 

Thus, shall I lay up treasure for futu- 
rity, become rich in good w^orks, in gener- 
ous sentiments, and virtuous actions. — 
And though inevitably exposed to be one 
day deprived of temporal riches, I shall 
acquire others which shall last forever, 
which even death itself shall not snatch 
from me, and Vv^hich will open to m.e in 
the future vv^orld inexhaustible sources of 
blessings and joys. 



THE POOR MAN. 



XhOU distributest as it pleases 
Thee, Oh God, thy blessings amongst men, 
according to laws supremely wise, but 
which are in a great measure unknown to 
us. — ^' Thou exaltest him that is low, and 
abases t him that is high ; Thou makes t 
poor, and makest rich 5 Thou bringest 
low, and liftest up." Nothing exists and 
takes place without thy permission ; eve- 
ry thing is directed by thy universal prov- 
idence. Let thy will Be done, great God, 
for it is just and good. 

Poverty ought not to quench my spirit, 
hinder me from enjoying the pleasures of 
existence, nor extinguish the sense of the 
dignity of my nature. All that consti- 
tutes human nature; all that exalts man 
above other terrestrial creatures 3 all that 
is essential to his true glory, and to his 
proper and lasting perfection, falls to my 



158 Exercises of Piety. 

lotas well as to the rich man. Havel 
not the same faculties, the same abilities, 
the same hopes, the same destination as 
he ? Have v^e not each of us the same re- 
lation to God, our Creator and Father, 
and to Jesus, our Lord and Savior ? Are 
we not to meet together before the same 
tribunal which is to decide our fate ? — 
Ought we not here to prepare ourselves 
for the same felicity ? Can I think that 
Thou, O my God, lovest me the less be- 
cause I am poor ; and that my poverty 
will be an obstacle to my future and su- 
preme happiness ?-^Undoubtedly not. — 
Thou hast, perhaps, foreseen that afHu- 
cnce and abundance would be hurtful to 
me, that they would become fatal snares 
to my virtue ; in this case, thy paternal 
bounty necessarily led Thee to refuse them 
to me. Possibly my indigence is a neces- 
sary means of preventing evils from which 
Thou wouldest spare me, or of procuring 
to my brethren, or the public, many ccn- 



The Poor Man; 159 

siderable advrantages, which ought to out- 
weigh my own personal advantage. 

I will never blush then at my poverty. 
That poverty, which is not the effect of 
bad conduct, is no disgrace to any one. — 
It is of no consequence to nie to be esteem- 
ed by any one who would despise me only 
because I am poor. It is not the person 
such a man esteems or disregards, it is his 
dress and externals. Do I not also know 
that my indigence will not degrade me in 
the eyes of that Great Being who know- 
etli all things, whose judgment is infalli- 
ble, and on whom alone my present and 
future happiness depend ? Do I not also 
know that, in the eyes of every considerate 
person, an upright mind, and a sincere and 
honest heart, is of more value than all the 
silver and gold in the world ? And if the 
wisest and most virtuous of mankind es- 
teem me, may I not be unconcerned at 
the contempt of weak and foolish minds ? 



160 Exercises of Piety. 

But if I have no occasion to be asham- 
ed at my poverty, I ought not to seek to 
conceal my indigence from the eyes of oth- 
ers. It is by this that it becomes so op- 
pressive and insupportable a burden to so 
many persons, v^ho wish to appear differ- 
ent from what they really are, and to live 
like people who are in easy and affluent 
circumstances, without the means of do- 
ing it. Obliged continually to dissemble 
and disguise, to speak and to act the re- 
verse of what they think, such persons pass 
their lives under constraint and perpetual 
uneasiness. They only make themselves 
more contemptible in the eyes of all those 

wnu o<-v uixxwcgj — — - — ^^^^ ,^L,±^jj 

and deprive themselves of the esteem of 
those who regard merit more than fortune. 
It shall give me no uneasiness, then, to 
own ray poverty in all cases v»^herein this 
acknowledgment will be necessary or con- 
venient. By this means I shall free my- 
self from a painful constraint, and from I 



The Poor Man. 161 

many troublesome shackles ; I shall be at 
my ease ; I shall live suitably to my con- 
dition, and with tranquillity on the little 
I possess. I can then, also, accept with 
gratitude, and without shame, the assist- 
ance which benevolent pei^sons may be 
disposed to give me. But this avov^al of 
my indigence shall always be accompanied 
with a proper sense of my natural digni- 
ty ; it shall be the avowal of a man who 
knows how to value himself, who judges 
wisely of the worth of things, and who has 
learnt to be contented with his lot. 

To support myself with dignity in the 
bosom of poverty, I must carefully avoid 
contracting habits which are commonly 
found in my condition, and falling into 
errors into which poverty so easily be- 
trays us. 

Far from me be the idea of making use 
of unlawful and disgraceful means of ex- 
tricating myself from my indigence, or of 
acquiring riches : I should then lose the 

O 2 



162 Exercises of Piety. 

peace of my own mind, the esteem of good 
men, and the approbation of my God— 
then, indeed, I should deserve the con- 
tempt and disgrace which the prejudices 
and false opinion of the senseless have at- 
tached to my condition. Far from me be 
all those indecent and bitter complaints 
which poverty often utters against the dis- 
pensations of Heaven, or the injustice and 
cruelty of men. By these I should offend 
my Creator and my Father, and exasperate 
m.y brethren against me. By these I should 
increase the difficulties in which I am in- 
volved, and drive from me those who might 
be disposed to assist me. 

Far from me be all envy at the sight of 
the real or imaginary advantages which 
riches procure. Far from me be thecon- 
tempt and hatred by which the poor seek 
to revenge themselves on the rich for the 
want of their fortune. Would not this 
be to pass judgment on the wise proceed-^ 
ings of Providence, to accuse an infinitely 



The Poor Man. 163 

wise and righteous Being of injustice, and 
to open to myself the sources of affliction 
and disappointment ? Far from me be that 
discouragement, those painful apprehen- 
sions, those anticipated uneasinesses to 
which the poor sometimes give way. Lit- 
tle is wanted for the support of a man 
who knows how to confine himself to 
simple necessaries, and who has shaken off 
the yoke of artificial wants. And hast 
Thou not, O my God, an infinite variety 
of means to relieve my wants and extri- 
cate me from my misery ? If I make a 
prudent use of my abihties^ — if I labor 
with persevering zeal and activity, can I 
suspect Thou wilt ever forget and forsake 
me ; that Thou wilt permit thy creature, 
thy child, to w^ant what is necessary ? Be- 
sides, how uncertain is that future period 
about which I distress myself ! How short 
and fleeting is the life of man ? Why then 
should I give myself up a prey to inquie- 
tudes about distant events, which I may 



164 Exercises of Piety. 

never see ? Why should I disquiet myself 
about what may never happen ? 

However sharp and rugged soever be the 
road I am called to travel, it will bring me 
to the end I have in view Vvdth as much, 
perhaps with much more safety, than the 
straightest and the smoothest road. Full of 
filial confidence, therefore, O my God, I 
yield myself up to thy direction, and sub- 
mit to thy will. 

Am I not daily drawing nearer to a bet- 
ter life, v/here the poor shall no longer be 
eclipsed by the rich, nor the little trampled 
on and oppressed by the great— where all 
shall be tried by the Sovereign Judge of 
the universe and the Father of mankind, 
according to what they have done, and not 
according to what they have possessed— 
where every one will receive the rewards 
or the punishments he hath deserved. In 
that world those riches, which are here so 
much esteemed, will be of no value — 
There, those things only will be prized 



7 he Poor Man. 165 

which may be shared equally by ail men, 
the poor as well as the rich, and which 
cannot be taken from us* The less I 
have then of temporal riches the more I 
should strive to obtain those which are e- 
ternal. Happy shall I be, when I quit 
this world, if I carry with me a fund of 
wisdom, integrity and virtue — a heart full 
of love to God and men. Then may I 
rejoice in the hope of not having neglect- 
ed the design for which I was sent into the 
world. Then I shall be rich — rich in spir- 
itual and incorruptible blessings, which 
will always increase and always improve. 
O that, animated by these sentiments. \ 

may labor with unwearied industry to ac- 
quire these invaluable and heavenly bles- 
sings. 

This, O my God, is the only prayer I 
can address to Thee v/ithout restriction ; 
convinced that what I ask is advanta- 
geous and useful for me, and that Thou 
wilt not fail to grant it. 



A PERSON CONFINED BY SICKNESS. 

It is in Thee, O my God, I live, 
and move, and have my being. Health 
and strength are derived from Thee. Thou 
dispenseth these blessings, like all other 
earthly favors, as seemeth good in thy 
sight. As to myself. Thou hast favored 
me less, in this respect, than many of my 
lellowcreatures around me. I feel it, 
and have often wept over it v^dth regret j , 
especially when the weakness of my body 
has lessened the activity of my mind, and 
prevented my contributing, according to 
my wishes, to the general good. 

But I check every rising murmur, and 
say, with my heart, as well as with my 
lips, " not my will, but thine be done." 

If my own excesses and wanderings in 
past life have produced that state of weak- 
ness in which I languish, it is just I should ^ 
experience the pernicious effects of my un- 
governed passions and senseless conduct.-— 



Sickness. 167 

These effects are a salutary lesson to my- 
self and others. Yes, O my God, even 
when Thou stiikest I adore thy goodness, 
and acknowledge that Thou art the wisest 
Master and the tenderest Parent, With- 
out these warnings and fatherly correc- 
tions I had continued to walk in the road 
of vice and folly, and thereby become still 
more wretched than at present. 

But if the weakness of my constitution 
be not the effect of my own excesses, but 
the consequence of circumstances which 
have not depended on me, I ought to re- 
gard it as the result of thy v/ise arrange- 
ments—as the effect of thy universal prov- 
idence, which concerns itself in the small- 
est as well as in the greatest events, and 
which makes all things work together for 
the accomplishment of its glorious designs. 
These designs are indeed impenetrable 
by me ; but I am persuaded they are as 
wise as they are salutary, and sooner or 
1 later I shall see that they are so. Thou 



168 Exercises of Piety. 

perceivest, at a glance of thine eye, the 
whole of my existence : Thou perfectly 
knowest all that I am and all that I shall 
become, in the present and the future 
state: Thou alone canst dispose of and 
order my lot so as best to conduce to my 
supreme felicity. And ought not this 
idea to calm and compose my mind ? 

But notwithstanding the narrow limits 
of my knowledge, I can, in many cases, 
perceive useful effects arising from the de- 
cay of my health. Even this condition 
may become to me a sourse of blessings i 
if, instead of giving myself up to mur- 
muring and depression of spirit, I improve 
it as wisdom and religion direct. 

Who knows but, if I had enjoyed a 
more established h-ealth, I might have be- 
come the prey of imperious and disorderly 
passions, and the slave of sensual appetites ? 
I should then perhaps have yielded my- 
self up to levity, to a taste for dissipation, 
to vanity, sensuality and luxury ; and with 



Sickness. 169 

more strength, I might have done much 
less good, and have discharged the duty 
of my station with less zeal and sincerity. 
Is it likely I should then have thought 
as frequently and with so much advantage 
as I have done on Thee, my God ; on re- 
ligion, the state of my soul, and a futui^e 
existence? Would these thoughts have 
appeared to me so important as they now 
do ? And would they have contributed so 
much to have made me better and more 
resigned, as they have done ? At present 
the sense of my weakness engages me fre- 
quently to consider these objects, and ren- 
ders them interesting to my heart, and a 
consolation to my mind. 

Is it likely I should so well have known. 
Lasted, and relished the innocent delights 
>f domestic life, the noble pleasures of re- 
ligion, and the attractive charTis of virtu- 
uis friendship ? Would my heart have 
)een so susceptible of compassion and of 
>ity ? Should I have felt so lively an inter- 
p 



170 Exercises of Piety. 

est in the happiness of others ? Might I 
not rather have become proud, insensible 
and cruel ? 

Encouraged by a feeling of strength, 
might I not have deferred to an uncertain 
futurity the execution of things the most 
important, instead of being sensible, as I 
now am, of the uncertainty of life, and 
therefore improving the present moment 
with diligence ? 

How dangerous is uninterrupted health 
and a vigorous constitution ! How prone 
are we to rely on our strength, and to sin 
under the idea of security. Into what 
excesses should Vv^e not run headlong with- 
out the restraints of sickness and suffering. 
Eager appetites, clamorous passions^heark- 
en to no other call. The voice of reason 
cannot reach them. As full of suffering 
as the world is, men still find courage to 
be wicked s and the little of virtue that 
yet remains among us, is chiefly owing 
to this salutary discipline. Blessed calam- 



Sickness. 1-71 

ities, that humble pride, that calm the pas- 
sions, that curb each inordinate appetite ! 
Blessed sicknesses, that meet the heart in 
its wanderings, and bring it back to Thee, 
the only centre of rest ! Blessed disappoint- 
ments, which afflict but purify — tear and 
harrow up the soul, but prepare it for the 
seeds of virtue. 

Without this weakness of constitution 
should I have familiarized my mind to the 
idea of death, and been armed against its 
terrors ? Perhaps the most distant appre- 
hension of my decease, the slightest fore- 
bodings of dissolution, had filled me with 
uneasiness and fear 5 and I should not have 
beheld, without distress and terror, the 
moment when my soul should quit this 
/terrestrial abode. 

If my present state of languor and 
weakness deprive me, on the one hand, of 
some corporeal pleasures and advantages 
— if it sometimes expose me to sorrow 
and sufferings ^ on the other hand it con- 



172 Exercises of Piety. 

tributes to my internal and spiritual im- 
provement : And this improvement is the 
only good thing which v^ill follow me in the 
other v/orld. What thanks do I owe Thee, 
O my Father, for the Gospel of thy beloved 
Son, which in this scene of suffering com- 
poses and enlivens my heart, with the cer- 
tain prospect of a world where a body shall 
be prepared for me like to Christ's glorifi- 
ed body, not subject to weakness and pain. 

\¥hat a motive is this to live contented 
and resigned, notv^ithstanding the daily 
feeling of my weakness ! 

No, O my God, I will offer no incon- 
siderate prayer to Thee. I will not ask 
for health, but with great submission to 
thy will. Thou wilt always give me what 
is necessary to my true happiness. It is 
not for me, who am ignorant and blind, 
to prescribe what m.easure of health is fit 
for me. 

If I cannot extend the sphere of my ac- 
tivity, I will at least endeavor, by thy grace, 



Sickness. 173 

not to neglect any thing by which I can 
be useful. Far from me be all impatience 
and peevishness. I will endeavor to les- 
sen the cares of my friends for me, and to 
express to them my gratitude for all the 
concern they show me. The little good 
I can do, I will do with all the zeal of 
which I am capable. Though weak, I 
am not entirely destitute of strength ^ and 
in the exertion of my remaining strength 
I shall not be wholly useless to the world. 
Thou requirest from thy creatures no 
more than Thou enablest them to perform. 
To be what Thou wiliest I should be j 
to perform what Thou wiliest me to per- 
form ; this is ray duty, and my supreme 
felicity. 

O, my God, let these considerations, so 
full of comfort, be never absent from mv 
mind. Let them dispel the darkness of 
adversity, and influence all my sentiments 
and actions. I shall then never sink un- 
der the weight of my sufferings j I shall 
p 2 



174 Exercises of Piety. 

never cease, in the depth of my afflictions, 
to respect and love Thee as the wisest and 
the best of fathers, and resign myself en- 
tirely to thy disposal. 



ON THE DEATH OF FRIENDS, 

It is Thou, great God> who hast 
united men together by the closest ties. It 
is Thou who hast in such various ways in- 
terwoven our interests, our pleasures, and 
our pains. Thou hast given us as assist- 
ants, conductors, guides and supports to 
each other. Thou hast inspired us with 
sentiments of love for one another. The 
tears, therefore, what we shed at the death 
of those who Vv^ere dear to us, cannot be 
displeasing to Thee. It is thy will that 
we should love them, and Thou beholdest 
thy children with an approving satisfac- 
tion, w^hen answering to thy paternal 
views, they live in harmony and tenderly 
love each other. 

But Thou wouldst have our love to be 
an enlightened and rational affection ^ that 
our esteem and attachment should be pro- 
portioned to the Beings who are the ob- 
jects of them. Thou designest that we 



176 Exercises of Piety ^ 

should love that which is perishable and 
mortal as we ought to love such creatures ; 
that we should reserve our supreme love 
and chief regard for Thee alone, an eter- 
nal and infinite Being, the only inexhaust- 
ible Source of all beauty and perfection. 
The beloved persons whose loss I de- 
plore were doubtless mortal. Taken from 
dust, they must necessarily return to it a- 
gain 5 strangers upon earth, like myself, 
my parents, and my brethren, they must 
return to their own country. This is 
what I ought never to have forgotten— 
this is what I ought frequently to have 
repeated to myself, even in the moments 
when I was tasting the pleasures of their 
friendship ^ in this manner should I have 
regulated my attachment, and have pre- 
pared myself for a sudden and inevitable 
separation from them. So true is it that 
if we were more attentive to the paternal 
lessons Thou daily givest us, we should 
have no occasion for that instruction in 



Death of Friends. Yll 

the school of affliction and misfortune, 
which we might more easily learn from 
our own reflections. 

The loss I have lately sustained is un- 
doubtedly painful and affecting. The 
more intimate and sacred were the ties 
which united me to these dear friends, the 
greater strength and consistence time had 
given them, and the more habitual they 
were become to me, so much the more 
cruelly must my heart be torn at the mo- 
ment the arrow of death hath just cut 
those beloved knots assunder, and the deep- 
er and more painful will be the wound 
arising from them. But it is thus that 
ail the ties which bind me to the earth 
will loosen and break away, that my pas- 
sage from this world to another may not 
be too painful iox: me. Those v/hom I 
cordially loved have only preceded me a 
few steps. Very soon, perhaps sooner 
than I suspect, I shall follow them. Then 
the days and the years that I have passed 



178 Exercises of Piety. 

m their absence will appear to me as a 
fleeting dream, to which will have suc- 
ceeded the lustre of a beautiful day. Then 
shall I soon forget all the afflictions and 
all the pains of this short life, and I shall 
be recompensed by the enjoyment of a 
pure and lasting felicity. Then we shall 
find ourselves reunited with wise and vir- 
tuous men in theassembly of thejost made 
perfect in heaven. And if,- to render our 
felicity complete, it is necessary, as I can 
scarcely doubt, that we should know again 
the persons w^hom we here tenderly loved, 
and should enter into new and closer rela- 
tions, Thou, O heavenly Father, wilt not 
deprive us of this sweet satisfaction. Yes, 
we shall then advance from one degree of 
improvement and felicity to another ; and 
by imparting to each other, without the 
shadow of jealousy and envy, all our 
knowledge, our advantages and pleasures, 
we shall multiply them to infinity, and 
make the enjoyment of them more noble 



Death of Friends. 179 

and delightful. Those friends whose loss 
I deplore have fought the good fight and 
finished their course, whilst I am yet oblig- 
ed to struggle with difficulties here below. 
They have run the race and reached the 
goal, whilst I am still pressing towards it. 
They now rest from their labors, and their 
works have followed them. And shall I 
not rejoice in their victory and their re- 
wards, their felicity and glory ? Can I 
wish to see them reenter the list, and be- 
gin anew their painful labors — to see them 
again expose themselves to the dangers 
and the adversities of life. 

No, dear departed friends ! However I 
valued you here, however sensibly I feel 
your loss, I wish not to see you again 
struggling beneath the burdens of mortal- 
ity. I hail your safe arrival on that bless- 
ed shore where the wicked cease from 
troubling and the weary are at rest. 

Thanks be to Thee, O my God, who 
art their Father and mine, that thou hast 



180 Exercises of Piety. 

sustained them In their combats, conduct- 
ed them to the end, and introduced them 
to the enjoyments of the just. But, per- 
haps, like a forsaken orphan, I may be 
apt to consider myself as a solitary indi- 
vidual in the midst of a tum.ultuous crowd 
of joyful, busy men. Perhaps I have lost! 
my principal support, my most generous 
benefactor, and my faithful guardian and | 
guide. Alas ! it is now that I most sen- 
sibly perceive my own weakness, depend- 
ence and insufficiency. It is now that 1 1 
groan under the feeling of my wants J 
and every difficulty I experience, every! 
danger I meet with, now fills me withl 
fear and terror. 

But am I really so forsaken and destitute 
of help as I imagine? How many wiseanc 
yirtuous Christians are there in the work 
who are disposed to conduct the feeble anc 
those who are destitute of help ? Am 
not, moreover, under the constant direc-j 
tion of thy providence, O thou Parent oj 



Death of Friends. ISl 

mankind ? Canst thou forsake any one of 
thy children who flies to Thee for refuge, 
casts himself into thy bosom, and hum- 
bly submits to thy will ? 

But it is thy will that I should exercise 
my powers and make greater efforts to 
improve in virtue. It is thy will, that, no 
longer leaning on the support of others, I 
should walk alone in the journey of life 3 
that I should be less influenced by the ex- 
ample of others than by my own princi- 
ples 5 that I should accustom myself to 
think and act with more steadiness and 
consistency, that I may one day become to 
my brethren what those persons, v^/hose 
loss I deplore, were to me. These may be 
among the reasons why thou hast taken 
from me these supports and left me to 
myself. 

Teach me, O Lord, to do and bear thy 
will, and to draw instruction from the 
adversities of life. 



Q^ 



182 Exercises of Piety. 

Are they innocent children, the objects 
of ray sweetest hopes, that death hath 
snatched from me ? 

Taken from this world in the age of 
innocence to pass into a more perfect a- 
bode^ they are sheltered from the snares 
and temptations of the present life ^ they 
have escaped a thousand evils and a thou- 
sand dangers ; and Thou wilt not fail to 
realize the hopes which they have raised 
by their natural dispositions, and by the 
excellent faculties with which Thou hast 
endowed them. Yes, Thou art their true 
Father, ind wilt advance them much bet- 
ter than I could possibly do. Thou wilt 
conduct them with much more ease and 
safety to the end of their existence than the 
wisest and best of earthly parents could. 

Is it the friend, the confident of my 
heart, whose death I lament ? But v/as he 
not at the same time, and much more, the 
friend of God, and the friend of all wise 
and good men ? And must not death have 



Death of Friends. 135 

extended the sphere of his activity^ enno- 
bled his sentiments, and augmented his 
happiness ? What a prospect for every 
one who is capable of a generous disin- 
terested friendship ! 

Moreover, is not all friendship, found- 
ed in truth and virtue, in its own nature 
immortal ? Is it not as immortal as truth 
and virtue ? In separating virtuous friends 
death only purifies and exalts their friend- 
ship. Like a tree transplanted hito a more 
fertile soil and milder climate, it shall 
flourish again beyond the tomb and bear 
immortal fruit. 

When I moisten with my tears the 
grave of my friends, it is not for them 
but for myself I weep. It is only their 
bodies that lie in the tomb. Their im- 
mortal souls are returned to their Creator 
and their Father. Nothing that was 
great and good, and amiable in them — 
nothing that excited my esteem and Icve 
for them is perished. Their ^ouls con- 



184 Exercises of Piety. , 

tlnue to think, and think with greater 
freedom and justness than ever. Their 
Hiclinations and sentiments are the same, 
excepting that they are more and more ex- 
alted and refined. Even to me their most 
excellent qualities are not lost. Often will 
I recall to mind their precepts, their exam- 
ples, their exhortations and advice, and 
from thence derive v^isdom and* instruc- 
tion. Their image, deeply impressed on 
my heart, shall be often present to me ^ 
sometimes kindly to reprove me for my 
faults, and at others to encourage me in 
virtue. Possibly in a future life they shall 
again be my instructors and my guides, 
and instate m.e in the important and re- 
joicing employ m^ents which await me id 
the heavens. Yes, O my God, the friends 
cf my heart belonged to Thee, and the) 
w^ili be eternally thine. Thou gaves^ 
them to me. Thou hast taken them fror 
me, and biesse'd be thy Name. 



EXERCISES OF PIETY, 

FOR THE L O R D's DA Y. 
J.^FVR THE MORNING, 



Hail day of the Lord I When my 
body should rest from its temporal emplo^y- 
ments ; but my ^ul, endovved with intelligence 
and formed for immortality, should display its 
noblest activity ! The day consecrated to the 
offices of piety, the instructions of religion, and 
the worship of God ; the day for preserving 
the memory of the Creation of all things, and 
for celebrating the redemption of the world by 
Jesus Christ ! 

With what pleasing emotions do I contem- 
plate my fellow christians of all nations^ in all 
parts of the w^orld, relieved from the burden of 
their employments and the hurry of their busi- 
ness, raising themselves above the vaia attach- 
ments of earth, and seekincr in the service and 
love of God that happiness which is no where 
else to be found. And who can estimate the 
many just reflections and noble ideas, the mmw 
good sentiments and pious resolutions, v.hkh 
this day produces and preserves among Chris- 
tians ! To the appointment and the obtervaticn 

CL2 



185 Exercises of Piety. 

of this solemii festival, the world is indebted, 
more than to any other circumstance, for the 
diffusion of the most important knowledge ; 
for the advancement of social order, refinement, 
and happiness ; and for the continuance and 
spread of the glorious gospel. Let us then, 
venerate the salutary institution ! 

Accept my thanks, O God ! for this blessed 
day, and for the valuable advantages I have de- 
rived from it. How m^any times hath the pie- 
t}^ of ray fellow worshippers awakened and in- 
flamed my ovvu ! — How many times hath my 
heart felt more calm, more impressed with the 
truths of religion^ more inflamed with the love 
of goodness, the love of God, and the love of 
man, when in union with my christian breth- 
Kn I have bowed before Thee, O thou Most 
High ! How often hath the agreeable light of 
troth, and the transporting image of virtue, left 
the most lively impressions on my heart and 
spirit, lifter eneaj^iim- in the devotions and du- 
tics of the sanctuary ! Then have vanished all 
the doubts that distressed me; then have dis- 
appeared all the difficulties I had met in the 
way of holiness and perfection ; and nothing 
was feared to stop or slacken my pace. Then 
1 felt new strength and courage to pursue my 
race, new zeal and hopes to gain the prize ! 

O may this day produce in me like salutary 
effects ! Filled with profound respect and true 
filial confidence, I will draw nigh to Thee, my 
Creator and Father, and join thy worshippers^ 
to offer the common sacrifice of praise and 



Morning. 187 

tIlanksgi^ ing which is due to Thee ! Penetrat- 
ed with joy and gratitude. I shall feel by my 
own experience the happiness of that man who 
knows Thee, who loves Thee, who is united 
to Thee ! Of that child whom thou dost direct 
and govern, and who freely resigns himself to 
thy paternal guidance. Inflamed \vith the most 
generous affection for mxankind, I shall rejoice 
in the idea that we are all originally equal, all 
invited to approach Thee together, and ail heirs 
of the same future blessedness* Filled with ho- 
ly fervor, I Vvill hear, with attention, those great 
truths which shall be preached ; apply them to 
my conduct, my necessities^ my particular cir- 
cumstances ; and open my heart to their heav- 
enly influence. Far from me be all indifference, 
luke warmness, or absence of mind ; all preju- 
dice, every earthlj^ idea, and carnal passion ; 
every thing Vvhich might prevent my affording 
an attentive ear to the voice of truth, or obstruct 
its salutary efficacy on my mind and conduct. 
I will also consecrate a part of the leisure 
Vv hich this day secures to me, to converse with 
myself, to examine carefully the state of my 
soul, to reflect on what I have heard or read, 
and to turn it to the advantage of my true and es. 
sential interests. The m.ind has need of nourish- 
ment and strength, as w^ll as the body ; and 
thi: day is principally designed to obtain it. 
The mind has need of relaxation from its tem- 
poral engagements, and I ought this day to pro- 
cure it such relaxation. — The more obstacles 
and dangers lie in my way, the greater risk of 



18S Exercises of Piety. 

stumbling-and being misled ; the more impor- 
tant is it that I sometimes stop in the midst of 
my course, to enter into myself, to survey tlie 
path I have trodden, and that which remains, 
and to compare the one with the other. This 
is one of the tasks I propose this day to per- 
form. I will reflect with myself, that I may 
learn the moral state of my soul ! 1 will endeav- 
or to discover what obstacles have prevented 
my greater progress in knowledge and virtue^ 
in christian duty and felicity ; and I will dili- 
gently inquire what rem.ains to be done to in- 
crease my attainments and perfect m^y graces. 
Grant me, O my God, thine assistance and 
blessing, that all which I may think, read, hear, 
and do to day may subserve the great end of my^ 
spiritual advancement. 

And Oh may this day be improved and hon- 
ored by multitudes of my brethren of mankind ;- 
and cont?ibute to render them more wise, more 
virtuous, and more happy ! Let thy Spirit, 
great God ! Animate and strengthen thy faith- 
i\i\ servants who shall this day preach thy gos- 
pel ; and may thy word have free course and 
edify I May error, and ignorance, and preju- 
dice, yield to the hght of knowledge, the con-^ 
victions of truth, and the progress of Christian- 
ity ; and thy name be knovrn in all the earth, 
and thy kingdom come, and the whole world 
be filled with thy glory ! Amen I 



IL—FOR THE EVENING. 



1 HE day consecrated to religious rest, 
and to the solemn adoration of the Supreme 
Being, is closed ! May a day like this be use- 
fully distinguished above all other days !— -Is 
there a more noble, a more sublime, a more 
transporting employment than the worship of 
God ? Is there one which supposes higher fac- 
ulties, or opens more pleasing prospects ? Is 
there one \\hich exalts us more above the 
brutes, and brings us nearer to heavenly in- 
teUigencies ? 

When my soul, O my God, is employed on 
thee, it is engaged with all that is most beau- 
tiful, m.ost aclorable, most amiable in the uni- 
verse ; witil all that cancomfortj tranquillize, 
and rejoice it; with all that can be desired on 
earth or hoped in heaven for blessedness or 
perfectioUe — When I unite with my brethren 
in rendering the tribute of adoration and praise 
due to Thee, I discharge the subUmestduty of 
which a human creature is capable. 

Now let me inquire of myself, whether I 
have this day experienced how honorable is 
this privilege, how delightful is this duty ! 
Have I performed it willingly, or with reluc- 
tance ? Was it with pleasure or uneasiness that 
I joined my fellowcreatures in presenting to 
our common Parent and Q^enerous Savior the 
sacrifice of praise and the oblation of devotion ? 
Did my heart and spirit truly take a part in 



190 Exercises of Piety. 

this homage ? Was my adoration rational, my 
gratitude sincere ? Did no folly mingle with it, 
no harbored corruption render it impure ? Have 
I realized that the Supreme Being could derive 
no benefit h'om my religious exercises, that 1 
could not acquire by them any right to his fa- 
"vors, and that all their utility is relative to their 
effect ? And have my devotions this day inspir- 
ed me with new gratitude^ humility, submission 
Tdid obedience ? Havel realized more fully my own 
helplessness, my entire dependence upon divine 
Providence, my obligations for past favors, and 
my need of present and future mercies. — Have 
I been suitably affected with the greatness of 
my privileges and the sublimity of my hopes 
as a Christian ? — What are the important re- 
flections that have engaged me this day ? Ta 
what good dispositions have I been conscious ? 
V/hat serious resolutions have I formed? What 
truth hath particular!}^ struck and aiSected me I: 
What duty hath appeared peculiarly necessary 
for my efforts to fulfi) ? To what fault have I 
felt a liableness, to what vice a temptation ? Or 
what doctrines of eternal wisdom, what motives 
to holiness and virtue, have made the deepest 
impression on my mind and heart ? Have I 
gained nev/ strength, new encouragement to 
discharge my duty with exactness, and new in- 
citements towards christian perfection ? Am I, 
by this sacred relaxation and these spiritual 
pleasures, brought into a condition for resum- 
iag tomorrow my employments and labors w^ith 
renovated vigor ? In a w ord. Have the sclem-- 



Evening. 191 

nlties of the clay served to unite me more close- 
ly to my God and Savior, and to bring me 
nearer the glorious ends for which I am des- 
tined ? 

If they have produced these good effects, I 
owe it, Heavenly Father, to the influence of thy 
blessed Spirit ; and I w^ould express my devout 
and lively gratitude for thy grace. O may the^ 
seeds of truth and virtue which thou hast cans- 
ed to fall into my heart this day, take deep root, 
and yield abundant produce ! May this indeed 
be a day of blessings to me ! May I find it to 
have advanced me in preparedness for the abode 
of the just, the assembly of the saints, and the 
glorious rest w^hich remaineth for the children 
of God ; there I shall know Thee better, adore 
Thee more worthily, and in communion with 
Thee find and enjoy supreme and eternal fe- 
licitv. Amen ! ' 




i^^j 



t-^ 







1 

Zollikofer on the Dignity of Man* 



JUST PUBLISHED, 

By ISAIAH THOMAS, Jun, 

And for Sale by him in Worcester, and hy Thomas Sc 
Whipple, Newburyport ; by Thomas^ Tappan, 
Portsmouth, in Two Volumes, Octavo^ price Four 
Dollars and Fifty Cents, handsomely bound-, 

OERMONS on the DIGNITY OF MAN, 

^ and the Value of the obiects principally relating to 
HUMAN HAPPINESS.— From the German of the 
late Rev, George Joachim Zollikofer, Minister of 
the Reformed Congregation at Leipsiek. 

By the Reverend 
WILLIAM TOOKE, F. K S. 

TO THE PUBLIC. 

THE Sermons here presei:ited to the Public, are the 
most popular v/ork of a Divine, who was preeminently 
distinguished in Germany. They are upon the most 
important subjects, and are celebrated throughout Eu- 
rope, The English Reviews, in unqualified language, 
speak of the excellence of the original, and recommend 
the English translation as correct and elegant. For the 
delineation of the Dignity of Man, and in the estimate 
of Human Happiness^ people of every country have an 
interest. The Sermons are v/ritten in a popular style, and 
are addressed to the understandings and hearts of per- 
sons oT every description. From their perusal, every 
discerning and serious mind may derive entertainment, 
instruction and moral iixiprovement. 



I 



'^■■ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



iiiliil* 

021 897 433 8 



-^-/ 



